So remember when I said that this chapter was going to follow Graverobber? Well that was partly true but then I got an idea and decided the chapter needed more. I kept changing my mind and ended up with this. Here it is.

Chapter 19

Graverobber made a disgruntled face as he injected his latest customer with zydrate. She closed her eyes and moaned as she felt the drug flow through her veins. He pulled the gun from her thigh and wiped it off. She was the last one and he was done for the night. If anyone approached on his way home he would tell them to fuck-off. He wasn't in the mood for dealing with anymore whiny, zydrate zombies. Truth be told, he was disgusted by the drug and even more so by those who would do just about anything for it. Yeah, he was the city's most popular dealer and yet he never touched the stuff himself. He knew that this made him a total hypocrite because he used this to his advantage. Amber wasn't the only Z addict he slept with. Not that he wasn't careful about it; he wasn't that stupid enough to not use protection. He even got himself tested once in a while when he felt it was necessary. The only time he had forgotten to play it safe was the first time Amber had approached him.

Allowing their encounters to continue was the biggest mistake of his life. Not only was she the daughter of the man who could have his head in a spilt second, but she was also without a doubt the worst addict he knew. Not even the sketchiest junkies he came across had an addiction as bad as she did. She came to see him almost everyday and instead of paying him in cash like most people, she would insist on getting her Z in exchange for sexual favors. She would always be the one to initiate it and as much he told himself how repulsed he was by her, he couldn't control himself. There was no denying her beauty, as plastic as it was. She was so trashy and yet had this way of making him crazy; but it was all fake in the end. She was a spoiled rich girl and he was peasant who was used as one of her favorite toys.

Now she was the head of the company and she had found a way to use him again. Not only did she find a way to squeeze more zydrate out of him but she had also manipulated him into fucking up what was probably one of the best things to happen to him. Just when he found a genuinely good and loyal girl, everything just went to shit and all for what, a fuck? Stupid, stupid, stupid. It had been two days since he had seen Shilo and after getting so used to her company, it felt weird not being with her. After he managed to escape through the angry crowd of rich snobs, he walked back to her house in false hope that she might be there and he could apologize like crazy. Because he truly was sorry, and remorse was a rare emotion for him to feel. Sure enough, she wasn't there and he was left to retreat back to his old apartment. He had kept a spare key for the place just in case he needed it. He went back there, took off that stupid suit he wore and slipped back into his regular dealer-get up. After earning some money, he went back and stared at the wall, thinking about how much this situation sucked. He could care less about losing his job at GeneCo or how every journalist in the city was talking shit about him. He didn't even care that the cops would most likely be back on his tail. What Graverobber really hated was what Shilo had said to him back at the party.

"Fuck you! I never want to see you again!"

He ran his fingers through his hair and gritted his teeth as he began to think of anyway he could get revenge on Amber and her asshole brothers for setting him up. Most of all he thought of how he could get Shilo to take him back. Because damn it, he needed her and he knew she needed him to. Life had been a bitch to both of them and if he didn't step in soon, as much as she had grown, he knew that she would be eaten alive.

David's P.O.V

The young musician sighed as he opened the door to his apartment and flung his guitar case off his shoulder. He set the case down and retreated to his room. He lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, Jillian's face appearing in his head. He opened his eyes again and wondered what she had wanted to talk about. The situation with Shilo had made her rush out of there so quickly that they didn't get a chance to finish their conversation. He thought about stopping by her house but decided against, figuring that Jillian would be too occupied with Shilo anyway. He hoped that both girls were okay. Poor Shilo, he thought, being publically humiliated like that. That boyfriend of hers was an idiot for getting himself involved with Amber Sweet. It was already all over the news and now everyone was talking about it. Gossip, gossip, gossip. That's all that was ever talked about anymore. That and commercialism all pertaining to GeneCo of course. This celebrity just got surgery, GeneCo just came out with its latest product, and even politics were controlled by GeneCo. Congress decides to keep repossessions legal. Oh sure, ripping out the organs of innocent people was perfectly liable. Twenty or thirty years ago, most people would have considered Rotti Largo to be a madman, and his company an abomination. After the epidemic, human morality ceased to exist. No one cared who got murdered anymore, as long as it wasn't them. It was a sad truth that people chose to live with, that David chose to live with.

When he joined the genetic opera, he didn't do it to promote their cause; that was just an automatic part of the package. He joined because he was a musician and he wanted to perform for others. He got his wish, though it came with a price. Because he now represented GeneCo, he also had to promote it, which meant that he had to get under the knife at least once. He had settled on enhanced ear canals, figuring he might need them if he was going to be around loud music for a while. Because he directly worked for GeneCo, his payment period had been extended from 90 days to a full year because the company didn't want to keep having to replace musicians who couldn't keep up with their payments, too much of a hassle. The only problem with that was that he had to give them a down payment of $250 and his time to pay for the whole thing was running out. He had been saving up every paycheck he had earned, only using money for what he really needed i.e., food, clothes, and rent for his apartment. At the same time he wasn't sure if his savings would be enough or just enough to keep the repo man off his tail and then leave him with nothing.

The upside of working at GeneCo was meeting Jillian. David remembered the first time he saw her. He and the other musicians were still getting over the sudden death of Blind Mag. Although none of them had ever worked with the sensational opera singer before, they were still shocked as the rest of the world was. Now that she gone, it would unlikely for the company with someone who was as talented as she was. Not only that, but now that she was gone and there was no headliner, who would they open up for? They pondered this as they were called to gather in the new opera house. David sat on the stage and plucked at his guitar as they waited. Finally, Amber and her brothers arrived, along with a petite girl that none of them have seen before.

"Everyone, your attention please?" Amber projected. "Gather round and listen closely."

David and the others did as they were told and gathered at the center of the stage to listen to what their new boss was about to tell them.

"As you all know, you will no longer be opening up for Blind Mag due to her recent…departure." Amber didn't sound in the least bit upset. "Not to worry though, none of you are going to lose your jobs. I'm sure you'll all be happy to know that your days as an opening act are over. From now on, the genetic opera will get to display its talents as the main attraction."

The musicians cheered and began to excitedly talk amongst themselves. David high fived his friends and the cheering continued. Amber put her hand up to silence them.

"However, every band needs a singer and my brothers and I have made sure to find someone who will help you guys rise to the top. So please, allow me to introduce your new front woman, Miss Ana Rosette." Amber moved out of the way and revealed Jillian who looked up at everyone with a timid smile. David and the others took in her form. She was pale with dark hair and striking green eyes. Amber dressed her in a short red and black dress with fishnets and black ankle boots. She was pretty but looked like a normal teenage girl to the rest of them. She was definitely no Blind Mag. Travis, one of David's friends, and the drummer, nudged him and gave a low whistle.

"Not bad, huh?" he whispered.

David shrugged. "She's cute."

One brave soul, Karina, the cello player of the group, decided to speak up.

"Is she any good?" she asked, raising a brow.

"I'm glad that you asked." said Amber. "Ana, my dear, get up there and show them your stuff. You there." She pointed to the piano player, sit down and play her this tune." Luigi walked over and handed him a music sheet. "The rest of you get off the stage and listen."

Again they did as they were told and jumped off the stage and filled the seats below. Amber, Luigi, and Pavi sat in the front row and watched as Jillian awkwardly stood in front of her new audience.

"Go ahead and start, sweetie. And remember, no opera."

"I'm sorry, Miss Sweet, but no opera?" someone asked.

Amber turned and smiled. "That's right. I've decided that the company needs a more, fresh and modern sound to it. Opera is dead. So it's out with the old and in with the new. Does anyone have a problem with that?" Amber was greeted by silence and nodded, satisfied. "Good." She turned back and waved her hand at Jillian. "Begin."

"Think she's any good?" Travis whispered.

Karina huffed. "We'll see what the kid can do."

The piano player started to play a few keys and Jillian closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening her mouth to sing.

When she was finished, everyone sat in there seats, astonished. Jillian looked out and them and shrugged. Pavi smirked and started applauding while the rest followed his lead.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Smiled Travis.

"Okay she's good, but can she put on a show? What do you think, David? David?"

David didn't answer he just continued to stare up at her. She was acting incredibly bashful. It was true, she was nowhere as good as Mag was but he was still amazed that such a petite girl had such a strong voice. The thing that really stood out though was how you could tell that she was giving it her all, as if her life depended on it. She was passionate and it was…attractive.

"Hello, Earth to David? What's your deal?" Karina said, flicking his shoulder.

He turned and looked at her. "Sorry, what?"

Travis laughed. "Looks like someone has a crush on the new talent."

"What? How can you say that, Trav? He doesn't even know her." said Karina, sounding annoyed.

'Doesn't mean I can't get to know her.' David thought to himself.

The other musicians rose from their seats and went onstage to greet her and bombard her with questions. Where did she come from? How long has she been a singer? How old was she? The questions continued and continued before Luigi yelled at them to break it up.

"Sit down you fucking vultures! What are you? The friggen paparazzi?"

"Shut up, Luigi." Said Amber sternly. "What my brothers meant to say was if you could please give her some air? You'll have plenty of time to get to know her at rehearsal, tomorrow. 8 AM and don't be late." The musicians nodded and backed away so Jillian could get off the stage, gathering their instruments and watching her all the while. Who was this girl who just appeared out of thin air?

As Jillian walked off stage she was greeted by David. "Hey, sorry to bother you but I just wanted to say that you have a lot of talent." He smiled.

Jillian blushed. "Thank you."

"I'm David by the way." he said, offering his hand.

Jillian hesitantly shook it and introduced herself as well, almost giving her real name. "I'm J-I mean, Ana."

"Look forward to working with you." He smiled.

She did her best to smile back. "Me too."

"Are you coming, mi bella?" Pavi called out to her.

"Coming." She replied.

"Guess, I'll see you later then."

"Yeah, I guess so. Well, bye."

She quickly walked over to the Largos who were waiting for her. "Lets go." Said Amber. "We have a lot of work to do."

Jillian nodded tensed up as Pavi placed an arm around her. David watched as they walked off, continuing to wonder about this mysterious new girl. She was super shy and acted as if she might break if anyone touched her. Still though, David made up his mind that he would try and befriend her, she looked like she needed it.

As David, got to know Jillian a bit more, the more his attraction for her grew. When she was offstage she was reserved and only talked when she needed to, then as soon as she got onstage and began to sing, it was like she was a totally different person, a more confident person. After their first show, she hyperventilated and he did everything he could to calm her down. After talking to her for a few minutes and getting her to lay down, she stopped and all was well again. The others thought she was strange and Karina even suggested she was bipolar but David didn't care. He was determined to help her. When he asked her the reason behind her behavior, she responded that she was simply nervous because she had never sung for such a huge audience before. David sighed in relief. She wasn't weird. She was a completely normal person with nerves.

After that show, Jillian was slowly able to come out of her shell and open up a bit more. She began to socialize with the other band members and put in her input for the songs they wrote. As for her and David's personal relationship, he gathered some information about her after a few weeks. She didn't know how to play any instruments but she had loved to sing from an early age, a trait she got from her mother. She didn't like the stage outfits that Amber chose for her but she didn't like arguing with Amber either. She loved flowers of all kind, but roses were her favorite. She apparently came from a French descent but was born in the states. She liked to dance but she loved to read. She was obviously beautiful and didn't know it, or at least she acted like she didn't.

As David got to know her, he realized that he liked Jillian a lot. One important secret that they shared was that neither of them really cared for GeneCo. It was something that had surprised him, since she was obedient towards the Largos. She told him that as much as she hated them, she had to do as they told her if she wanted to stay alive. This was something that he perfectly understood. The secret they shared now however was way more than he bargained for. He was dating the daughter of Blind Mag. Still, as much big of a secret it was that she kept from him and everyone else, he couldn't help the way he felt and he made it very clear. Luckily, she felt the same way or at least she seemed to.

If David didn't know any better, he would of have thought that she was about to break up with him earlier at the party. It couldn't have been that though, could it? They had only made it official not too long ago. Could she had changed her mind about him or maybe only indulged him because she felt sorry for him? No she wasn't like that. She wouldn't intentionally hurt him. There had to be something more. The question is what was it?

So I don't know how to feel about this chapter. It sort of wrote itself. I guess I thought I should David some background that way he didn't come off as boring. Anyways, I promise you that soon all of this tension is going to boil over into some serious drama very soon. Review, please!