Sorry I took so long with this Disclaimer. :)

If I owned anything, I don't think I would be on this site. I'd have mad paper. And bitches! :D Nah, but seriously. The only thing I own is Candice, Aunt Bev, and obviously the characters you've never heard of. Duh. :)

Tap, Tap, Tap..

His dress shoes echoed off the pavement as he made his way up to the house. The house that was the talk of the town. The house that held so many secrets. The house that held a killer.

He felt a bead of sweat form at his temple as he finally made it up to the door of the dark house. It was so quiet. So… dead. He cautiously looked behind him; fear growing deeper and deeper inside his heart. He could've sworn that someone was standing there… watching him..

Maybe it was just his ever so frantic mind playing tricks on him..

He then stared up at the dark sky.

He gulped.

He brought his wrist up to his face; Looking at his watch. It plainly read 5:13 am.

He gulped again; louder this time.

Why? Why did she want to meet him this early in the morning? The sun wasn't even out, yet! Nobody was out…

He was alone. Alone with the murderer.

The cool morning air lightly kissed his steaming face. It would've felt good to him if his mind wasn't so clouded with dark thoughts. Thoughts about what could happen to him that morning. He shuddered when he realized that the longer he stayed out here staring at the door, the longer this meeting would take. He clutched the suitcase he brought with him in his hand. What if she was watching him out of a window? Plotting a way to take him out without anybody else noticing.. Was that why she wanted to meet him this early? He took a deep breath…

..And knocked on the door softly..

His heart fell in his stomach when the door flung open; forcing him to stumble a few steps back. He wasn't even finished with the first knock!

He regained his balance and stared down in fear.

…Those eyes. Those… gray menacing eyes.

He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Nothing but silence. He stood frozen staring at the little 8 year old. He wondered what she was thinking. What she was plotting. Plotting against him.

Silence.

It was an eerie silence as they stood staring at one another.

It was eerie… until she broke it.

"…Are we gonna do this, or what?" she hissed. She wanted to get this shit done before her aunt woke up.

She stood there, staring up at him. He appeared in a blue suit and a red tie. His dress shoes were shiny. It was obvious that he took time out for getting dressed well. Granted, he looked a lot different from what she expected. He sounded like a stuck up white man on the phone. But what stood before her was…this. And why was he staring at her like that? Like she was some sort of monster? Yes, it was early in the morning and she was in her pajamas, but that wasn't a reason to stare at her like she was… nothing. She was slowly getting pissed off. And the fact that he didn't answer her was making it worse. "WELL?" she pressed as she turned around and began to walk in her house.

He stood with a blank stare. He didn't know what to say. "..I-..I-…Yeah…" he began as he lowered his head and began to follow her inside the dark house. "Yeah, okay.."

Once inside, Tom took the liberty of closing the door behind him… since Candice was nowhere in sight. He looked left, and then right. All he saw was darkness.

"In here.." he heard a voice call.

He followed the tiny voice towards his left. It was coming from the living room. When he entered, he noticed that Candice was sitting on the couch. Her feet propped on the coffee table. She cut her eyes towards him with a look that said `Sit down, or I'll kill you...`

Well… at least that's how Tom deciphered it.

Tom walked slowly towards the other side of the coffee table and sat in a chair across from her. He set his suitcase on the table and looked up at her with a hint of fear in his eyes. Why did he agree to take this case?

There they sat. Staring each other down. Each lost in their thoughts. Tom cleared his throat in an attempt to get the conversation started,… but to no avail.

Candice noticed his demeanor. How fidgety and nervous he was. How he seemed to sweat as soon as they locked eyes when she opened the door to let him in. All these signs only meant one thing..

He was a bitch.

Which meant he was… perfect.

Tom cleared his throat again. He knew that this meeting had to get started before he died of a heart attack. He opened his suitcase and took some papers out. He shuffled them around and looked up at Candice once more. Her demeanor didn't change. She just sat there watching his every move. He had to break the silence.

"..Well.." he straightened. "This is… quite a predicament you're in.." He looked at her, expecting a response, but he was greeted with silence. "And um.. Why did you want to meet so early..? He asked, curious.

Candice adverted her eyes to the side and remained silent.

She had her reasons…

He gulped, deciding that there were more important things at hand. "Uhh.. So being you're lawyer.. ..it's mandatory to- to ask.." he started as he clenched his fists together. "To…to ask.." he tried again. He didn't know how to get the question out. He then took a deep breath and blurted it out with a stab of courage that seemed to form from thin air. "Did.. Did you really kill your mother!"

Her hues grew a tad wider and she stared at him with a confused expression. It was obvious that asking her that took a toll on him. That would explain why his voice raised an octave. "Hmm.." she began as she removed on of her legs from the coffee table. She then leaned back on the couch and clasped her hands together in her lap. A soft chuckle was heard..

"..Do you think I killed her, Tom?"

Tom grimaced. That tone of voice she used was as if she found it funny. What kind of little girl was she? "I….I'm here to prove that you're not.." he replied.

"Yes. But do you think I killed her, Tom?" she repeated. " It's a simple yes or no question, Tom." she lowered her hues and pushed some hair from her face.

The way she said his name after every sentence sent a chill down his spine. "I.. wanna believe you didn't."

"Right. So even if I did kill her, you'd still represent me? Is that what you're getting at, Tom?" she asked as she leaned forward, staring at him right in the eyes. She raised a brow and waited for his answer.

Tom was speechless. "I..I..-"

"So let's say this thing works out and I'm found innocent. That means they're letting a cold blooded killer run free to kill again. And you know what, Tom?" she began with another grin. "…It'd be all your fault…"

Silence.

What could he say? It was then he realized that this was no ordinary girl. "Uhh…" he began as he cleared his throat for the third time that morning. "..We'll… come back to that question later.." he shuffled more papers nervously.

She grinned.

He stopped and looked at one particular piece of paper. He then brought his eyes back up towards her. Ignoring his beating heart, he had to ask.. "..What happened to your sister and father..?" he asked; his pulse racing. "..I-it says here you were charged of getting rid of them… D-Did you..?" he asked.

Candice put a finger to her chin, as of pondering the question. After a few more seconds of thinking, she looked back at Tom. "Hmm… I forgot what I did with them…" she grinned.

"WHA-" he began, shocked. His whole body began to quiver. He was terrified. "You don't mean, you actually..-"

"What are you doing here, Tom?" she asked, cutting him off.

Tom was confused. "I..-"

"You know that there's no way we can win this." she removed her other leg from the coffee table and sat on the edge of the couch. "Why the hell did you ask if you could represent me of all people?" She asked with a confused expression.. Why would someone like this want to help someone like her? This wasn't just you're normal random act of kindness…

..Then it hit her. She finally found a way to make this case turn out in her favor. But to do that, she had to take a major risk at this point. And she knew exactly how to do it..

The R. Kelly case.

"You…. You selfish.. Piece of...shit!" she exclaimed, but not loud enough to wake up her sleeping aunt. Her angry stare pierced through Tom's heart.

"..Wha.-.. What are you talking about..?" he asked with the most confused expression he ever made. Where did this sudden outburst of anger come from?

Candice shook her head in disappointment. She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she had to. She just had to let this case go her way. Before things got ugly. Before people got hurt. Before… they got to her…

"C…Candice..?" Tom cut off her thoughts.

Candice broke from her trance. She stood up quickly, causing Tom to sit back further in his chair. She pointed at him in his face and forced a chuckle. "You are a piece of work, aren't you.?" she asked as she lowered her finger. "The only reason you took this case was to make up for the one you lost." she shook her head again.

Tom was speechless.

"Tom Dubois wins the most controversial case of all time.." she said, mocking what future news reporters might say. "Has a good ring to it, doesn't it?" she put her hands on her hips, and started walking towards the front door. Reluctant and confused, Tom followed.

"But I-.." he stammered as he watched her open the door.

"But nothing." she glared back at him. "You're alone with this. I'm not gonna try to help you win. You're on your own. Now leave." she pushed him outside.

"But, if we don't talk about this case, how are we gonna win, Candice!" he exclaimed, finding courage from somewhere. He couldn't believe she got such a huge assumption like that. And it seemed to come from thin air! He had never met someone so moody in his life. Maybe she was bipolar. A bipolar 8 year old…. Go figure.

"You're the lawyer. Figure it out!"

She slammed the door right in his face.

Tom stared at the door with his chin nearly hitting the ground. His eyes were wide and he seemed frozen in time.

"…What…in the world…just happened…?"

Inside, Candice leaned on the other side of the door. Her gray hues lowered towards the ground. She felt a tear trying to form in her eye, but she would never allow it to fall. She slowly slid her body down towards the ground and a heavy sigh escaped from the pit of her throat. "I'm so sorry Tom…" she whispered as she brought her knees up to her little chest.

"..But…it was for your own good…"

"In my shoes just to see…. What it's like to be me. I'll be you, let's trade shoes… just to see what it'd be like to feel your pain. You feel mine. Go inside each other's mind. Just to see what we'll find. Look at shit through each other's eyes…"

The song, "Beautiful" by Eminem blasted through her headphones as Candice sat on her porch. It had been 10 whole hours since that… confrontation with Tom. And what did she do since then? Just sit home sulking in her own depression. Hell, she would've still been inside sitting in her room if her aunt hadn't forced her outside. According to Aunt Bev, she was "tired of looking at her". Heh, what an old bitch.

Candice didn't want to go out walking anyplace. Especially when the sun was so high up in the air. People were out. Which meant people could be watching her. And Lord knows she didn't need any extra attention. So she just decided to sit on her porch, close her eyes, and let the music take over her. At least until it got dark out.

She just had begun to listen to another song, when she felt a presence standing in front of her. She had her head lowered to the ground and her eyes closed, so she didn't see who it was. But she had an idea…

"Fucking paparazzi!" she thought.

Did they ever quit? Oh, how she wished she could listen to her music in peace. They always had to bother her whenever they could. And all that just to make a quick buck at her expense. How fucked up was that? Candice opened her eyes to see the form of a shadow on the ground. She didn't bother looking up. She knew that as soon as she did, she'd be greeted with a flash. She didn't need a repeat of yesterday's episode. "I don't think a picture of me listening to music would do you any good…" she said with a sigh. "Come back when I'm stuffing the Ipod down someone's throat. That picture should be worth a few grand.." she hissed as she rolled her eyes; her head still lowered.

"Damn. Niggah's be makin' that much paper fo' a picture of you? "

..That voice. That… strange voice. It certainly didn't sound like any paparazzi she'd ever heard. No.. this voice sounded like a child. More appropriately, a little girl. Candice took the earphones out of her ear and looked up at the other…

Okay… so it wasn't a little girl..

It was a young boy. Candice raised a brow when she noticed his attire. He wore black baggy pants with white shoes and a black shirt that read "Esco." in white letters. "The hell is that supposed to mean..?" she thought to herself as she continued to eye him up and down. She noticed that he wore a white hat and a silver chain that hung so low that it reached his groin. What was that on the chain…? A… microphone..? She then brought her eyes towards his face. She noticed he had long corn rolls that ended at his shoulders. But then she noticed his eyes. He had the most… beautiful light brown eyes she'd ever seen…

It was then she realized who he was. She kind of remembered him from yesterday. He was one of the short dark figures that was staring at her from next door. Sure, she could hardly see their faces, but she knew that's who he was. But what she didn't know, was why he was here… "Oh.. It's you.." she said without any enthusiasm. She wasn't trying to make any new friends.

"Oh, so you heard of me, huh? I ain't surprised, though. Niggahs can't help but talk about Esco!" he pointed to himself; his cockiness expressed on his brown face.

"Well, that explains the shirt... What a stupid nicnkame.." she thought to herself as she shook her head. She knew what kind of boy he was right off the bat. He was a cocky `gangsta` who idolized the `thug` life. That was stupid. How the hell can you be a thug from… Woodcrest?

Candice's first impression of `Esco`?

..He's an idiot.

"What do you want?" she hissed as she stared at him with a menacing expression. She knew he only wanted to ask her about the case. About whether she really killed her mother. And whether she actually got rid of the rest of her family. And frankly, Candice didn't feel like answering any stupid fucking questions at this point. And the fact that they were going to come from an idiot just pissed her off a little bit more.

Riley looked down at the `killer` with a grin. He didn't know why all these people were scared of this girl. She looked like a harmless rabbit. Riley took a second to notice her face. Seeing that scar up close was kind of creepy, but he was a real niggah. And real niggahs weren't scared of something as dumb as a scar. Riley then noticed her eyes. Those… gray eyes. He'd never seen anything like them. And the fact that they were on the face of an African American just made it even more unbelievable. Riley grinned.

"Well, since this is my hood, I should be tha' one to welcome you to it." he crossed his arms in front of his chest and chuckled. "You know what? All dese niggahs is scared of you, but I ain't! So if you think you gon' run shit around here, you mistakin', cuz these streets belong to Young Reezy! Nah mean?"

Candice hardly listened to him. She spaced in and out. But what she did hear was his last sentence. "…Young.. Reezy? The hell is that..?"

Riley huffed. "Girl you stupid.. Who you think it is?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"…..." a blank stare.

"It's ME! Damn!" he exclaimed. "Is you even listening?"

"…I thought your name was `Esco.`" Candice raised a brow. She saw the look on his face and she realized that she was annoying him. Candice found it… kind of funny. She didn't know much about this idiot, but what she did know was that it didn't take much to push his buttons.

Riley rolled his eyes. This girl obviously wasn't the brightest bullet in the chamber. "I got all kinds of names, feel me? H.R. Paper Stacks! Also known as AKA Horsechoker! Uhh.. AKA Pillsbury Doughboy! AKA Louis Rich!… Uhh..-"

She raised a brow. "So….you're schizophrenic?"

His eyes went wide and he clenched up his fists. "The fuck! NO!" he yelled; his eyes clenched shut. The fuck is wrong with this girl?

"What the fuck is wrong with this boy?" she thought to herself as she watched this mini temper tantrum he was having. She had never met anyone like him in her life. So much cockiness couldn't hardly fit in a child his size. She hated to admit it. Oh, GOD how she hated to admit it. But… she found this boy… kind of funny.

Kind of..

"Look!" he exclaimed, cutting her off from her thoughts. "Just know that dese streets belong to me! Feel me?" he pointed to himself once again, but this time taking one step closer to her. Candice inched back. She never was comfortable about people being too close to her…. Especially guys. That would explain the accident with the camera yesterday. He… just got a little too close..

"..These are your streets, right?" she asked.

"Yep Yep!" he crossed his arms in from on his chest and grinned. This hoe was finally beginning to understand. Took her long enough.

"Hmm.. Well, that's weird.. " she stood up, realizing that she was a little shorter than him. She then walked past him and looked down the street as if she lost something.

Riley was confused. "What is you doin'?" he asked as he eyed her. He realized that she was shorter than him. And that boosted his ego. He was always the shortest in a group of people. And the fact that he was taller than her just made him feel better about himself.

"Your streets, huh? So that means this particular street is yours, too?" she asked as she cut her eyes towards him.

"You ain't a good listener, are you?" he asked as he shook his head.

"That's really weird.." she repeated. "'Cause that street sign says `Timid Dear Lane`… " she raised a brow.

"So what?" Riley was confused. That's just like a hoe. Never making sense.

"I'm just sayin'… It doesn't say H.R. Paper Stacks… Or Young Reezy… Or Esco…" she walked towards him, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She grinned a little and moved a single red strand of hair from her face.

"SO?" Riley hissed, watching her motions. "What the hell-"

"SO! These can't be your streets, can they?" she asked as she walked past him again and stood on her porch. What was this boy trying to prove? This little `gangsta` act was seriously getting old. She knew what real gangstas did. So that meant she knew that they didn't care about stupid nicknames and running streets like…. Woodcrest. All this idiot was doing was embarrassing himself..

But still…

She was surprised that he actually had the balls to come up to her and actually talk to her. And what made it even more suprising was that he didn't ask her about the murders. Not even once! He seemed not to be afraid of her. Which is more than what she could say about the other residents of Woodcrest. They seemed to stare at her in fear and confusion. Yet, this boy looked at her like she was actually a person rather than a monster. And even though she was purposely pushing his buttons at the moment, she still appreciated the fact he didn't treat her the same as everybody else.

Riley thought about what she said and shook his head back and forth. "AY!" he yelled. "I'm workin' on the street signs, IIGHT!" he lied.

"Riiiight…" she shook her head. "But until then… you've been beat by a… Timid Dear.." she managed to chuckle. "You might wanna work on that.." she reached for the door handle. She decided that this idiot had enough of her logic. She didn't want to make his head explode. That would mean another charge added to her case!

"AY!.. THAT DON-…I AIN-…YOU JUST-.. DAMN!" he clenched up his fists again and a snarl was etched on his face. This hoe thought she could punk Young Reezy? Hell no. He wouldn't let that shit happen! He was determined to get her back.

Candice expected another temper tantrum to ensue, but an enraged voice caught her attention.

"RILEY! GET YOUR LITTLE SHORT ASS OVER HERE!" a voice boomed from her right.

Candice looked towards the voice and noticed that an older man was yelling out the front door. Yelling at the boy. "Ahh.. Finally, a real name.." she shook her head. She then looked back at Riley, who was still trying to figure out what to say. He was so… stupid. "What's his problem..?" she asked out loud.

Riley gave up on his comeback. He knew that he would get her back… He just didn't know how… But he knew it would be soon. "He ain't want me talkin' to you." he said with a pout. "He said you was gonna kill us, or some shit… But I'm Young Reezy! I aint scared! I goes where I wants to go…"

"He said you was gonna kill us..." Riley's words seemed to echo in her mind. Damn. What was she thinking talking to this boy? It was then that she realized that she shouldn't have even came outside. "You… better listen to him.. Stay away from me.." she said as she lowered her eyes towards the ground. She clenched up her fists; ignoring the constant yelling of the older gentleman next door. But she couldn't blame him. She was trouble. She knew that if anybody was around her they wouldn't have a long life.. She couldn't make any friends. She couldn't even have associates. She had to be alone… For their sake...

"..Like I said. I ain't scared of you. I know damn well you aint kill nobody!" he managed to chuckle as he began to walk towards his yelling grandfather. "Peace!" he exclaimed.

…What…?

"Wait!.. Hold up!" she yelled in Riley's direction.

Riley stopped dead in his tracks and turned around halfway. Of course this pissed off his grandfather because he began to curse at Candice.. But she ignored him like she did everybody else. "What?" Riley asked, raising a brow.

"…You don't think I did it…?" she asked, dumfounded.

Riley grinned from ear to ear. "Hell nah. I ain't stupid.."

And with that, he disappeared inside of his house. Leaving Candice outside, staring at the Freeman's door.

The yelling stopped.

There was just silence.

"He… he doesn't think I did it…?" she thought to herself as she lowered her gray hues towards the ground. `Hell nah.. I ain't stupid…`. She remembered his words. Was he serious? Or was he just fucking with her? He seemed serious. But everyone…. EVERYONE thought she did it. Even her own aunt! So… why was this boy any different? "I ain't stupid…" his words repeated in her mind.

"Riley... you idiot..."

…Was that a ….smile on her face..?

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK!

The camera's flash was turned off. No need of causing any attention to the bushes that they were hidden in. But it was good, because they didn't need the flash. They got all the information they needed for now. They had been stationed outside her house ever since she came outside that day, and their efforts had finally paid off. Candice seemed to like the boy that she was just talking to. Just look at that smile!

CLICK, CLICK!

They would do anything to permanently erase that fucking smile from her face.

They watched as Candice walked back in her house. They were baffled. Was… that a spring her step?

CLICK, CLICK!

They wouldn't let this madness continue. This bitch didn't deserve to smile. She didn't fucking deserve to be happy. They had to hurt her some way. But that didn't necessarily mean hurting her physically. No…that would come later… No, for now.. they had to crush her spirit…

..And they knew exactly how they were going to do that…

Authors Comments: Might not be posting more chapters for a while until I get more reviews! So.. tell your friends! Tell your friend's friends! Tell your friend's friend's friends! Tell your friend's friend's friend's baby mama Boomqueesha! ...Ahem... You get the point. :)