Hey guys! It's almost halfway through the story, and I'm really excited for the next few chapters. Well, I feel horrible about the next few chapters, actually. Poor Jim. But I'm absolutely ECSTATIC for the ending. I think I have something good in store. I THINK.

Okay, new OC in this chapter! Just the introduction for him…it will hopefully go into detail for him in the next chapter.

Thank you to sultal for helping me find a name for my OC!

Thank you to:

Sultal—thanks for all ur help.

Avril Lambert—yeah, I totally love Dani and Flynn too! Yay Meg!

ChainedPromisesAndBrokenDreams—thank youuuu!

ScoobyDoo—that's a pretty good idea; I hope I can fit that in!

GigglyLaughs—Thanks so much! Yeah, I think an OC would have been more appropriate for Ariel as well, instead of getting back together with Eric.

RamanNoodles—Thanks for all the REVIEWS! Really motivated me. YOU ARE MY 100th REVIEWER! Love You!

On to the chapter!

You know that feeling you get when you're so confused, but no one will clue you in?
-Jim

At Bronson, moths fluttered around the lights, and the scarlet graffiti on the brick walls stood out. Jim walked to Bronson alone. He was used to walking and talking with Gaston and Flynn, but as he looked, Gaston was not there. Neither was Flynn. Just him and some tall girl with curly brown hair in a high ponytail wearing what looked like the world's thinnest clothing.

Jim walked up to her. "Hey." He knew her; he had seen her at Bronson many times before. But her name had slipped his mind.
"Meg," she said with a smile. "You are?"
"Jim."
Her eyes widened for some reason, and she dropped her can of Heineken. The can cracked, and amber liquid spilled out.

"My bad." Meg bent down to pick up the can, showing off her cleavage. Jim looked away. He had to stay pure. He had a girlfriend now. Wendy, Wendy, Wendy.

"Jim…Hawkins?" Meg repeated, tossing the can lightly over her shoulder like she owned Bronson. Jim nodded, surprised that this girl knew him. "Yeah. Gaston told you?"
"Not Gaston." She didn't clarify on who, only hugged herself tightly.

Jim shrugged.

"Cigarette?"
Jim shook his head. "No thanks. I don't…I don't smoke." He was feeling so confused. "Wait, who told you about me? How do you know my last name?"
"I'm magic," Meg replied dryly. Jim was getting more and more irritated with her. "No, you're not. Tell me. Is there something wrong?"
Meg slapped her hand to her heart. "Why the hell would there be something wrong?"
"Your face. When I told you my name."
Meg laughed lightly and shrugged it off. "I once knew a guy named Jim. In jail. You looked…er, familiar."
Jim had a feeling she was lying to keep him off her case, but most Bronson girls were just as mysterious as Meg, so he didn't think much of it. "Oh. You were in jail?"
Meg laughed again, a little nervously. "I didn't do anything."
Jim grinned. "We never do anything. The cops are just assholes."
Meg laughed, throwing her head back. "No, but really, I didn't. I was framed." She raised her thin bracket-shaped eyebrows at this. Was she trying to give him a hint? Jim shook his head to clear it. "By whom?"
"Some worthless piece of crap. Will Rhodes. You probably read about it in the paper."
"Is he in jail now?"
Meg looked at Jim bitterly. "He's dead."
Jim gasped. "What? Why? How old was he?"
"A sophomore, believe it or not."
"Suicide?"
Meg raised her eyebrows again, almost to her hairline. "Absolutely not! The government executed him in the public square. That's the punishment murder gets."
"I heard that the person who stole the Crystal gets killed in the square too. Because its murder." Jim looked at Meg to try and read the intense emotions on her face. But she just looked at him blankly. "Yeah, it would be," Meg said.

Jim felt anger building up. "You're confusing, you know that?"
Meg looked sarcastically at Jim. "Aw, thanks, hon, for letting me know." Meg narrowed her eyes. "You're not the first to say so."
"It's like you're cluing me in on something and then you break away. And I have no idea what the hell you're talking about!"
Meg turned away. "You did it. They know."
"WHAT?" Jim exploded. "I did what? Who knows? Who the hell are you?"
Meg looked at him. "The cops. You did it, didn't you?"
Jim's heart was beating so hard he thought he was going to die of fear. He never thought it was possible, but blood was rushing in his ears and he just wanted to run away, be a little boy again.

Meg started to back away, but Jim grabbed her arm tight and pulled her back. "I swear to God, you're not leaving until you tell me what all this crap is."

"The Thief. Is it you?"
Jim narrowed his eyes. "You think the thief is me?"
Meg leaned back against the wall. "Cigarette?"
Jim was getting annoyed. "No, I told you I don't smoke. Why do you think it's me?"

Meg shrugged, her bony shoulders moving up and down. "I heard it. From a friend."
"Your friend's a lying skank."
Meg laughed. "Not too far from the truth."

Jim, now convinced Meg was playing a trick on him, shoved what she said into the back of her mind and shut up, staring off into space.

"Hey, Jim."

Jim turned around and grinned at the guy who had just arrived. "Adrian! Hey, bro, where you been?"

Adrian moved towards them and politely raised a hand in greeting to Meg. "Hi, I'm Adrian Trent."

Meg waggled her fingers at Adrian. He was sexy, muscly, tanned and seemed nice, with blue eyes and dark hair.

Adrian leaned against the brick wall with them. "What are you talking about?"

"The Crystal Thief," said Meg with a tiny smile. "What do you know about that?"

Adrian shrugged. "I know much about a lot of things. Mr. Triton, the man I work for, tells me about all this stuff. I don't know who the Agents think it is, but whoever it is, they're defenitely in trouble."
Meg looked pointedly at Jim.

Jim, still not comprehending, shook his his head. "I've got to go home anyway."

Adrian nodded. "I was just passing by on my way to Home Depot. Running an errand for Miss Alana."

Jim started around to the front of Bronson alone. As he did, he spotted Wendy standing there. He ran to her and grabbed her hands. "Wendy, what's wrong? Why are you here?"
Wendy shook her head. "I need you."
Jim wrapped his arms around her. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Wendy tightened her arm around Jim's middle. "Daddy hit Michael. Aunt Millicent came to our house."
Jim's eyes widened. "Tonight?"
"She was in New York on business. John called her. I was at Dani's, and my cell phone was off."
Jim cocked his head. "So…"
"She took them away. And I'm to leave as well—if I want to. And it's very wrong for me to just live with Daddy, isn't it?"
Jim swallowed. "No. You can't leave, you have to—"
Wendy looked down, a tear trickling down her cheek. "Who will I stay with, Jim?"
"Me?" Jim asked, feeling desperate.

Wendy let out a soft sob. Jim pulled her close. "I'll walk you home."
"Home?"
Jim shook his head. "My house. You can stay with me."

"Gaston," whispered Wendy.

Jim looked, and spotted him over near a bridge alone with one of his midget friends, Lafou.

Gaston suddenly marched in that direction. "Jim!" he yelled. "Who the hell are you, to be flouncing around with that prude!"
Wendy gasped. Jim bit back a rude remark. "Why don't you just get lost?" Jim said, and turned Wendy around to walk her to the Benbow.

"Just a minute," snapped Gaston, grabbing Jim's shoulder. "I got a score to settle with you, asshole."
"Get the hell off me," Jim shouted, slapping his hand off.

"I'll get the hell off you," Gaston agreed. "I don't want you. I want her." He reached out, obviously drunk and grabbed Wendy's elbow, twisting it hard. Wendy stumbled onto Gaston, who smashed his lips against hers.

Wendy punched Gaston in the face. He twisted her arms again and tumbled over backwards.

"Don't touch her!" Jim shoved Gaston as hard as he could. Gaston lost his footing and fell straight into the water under the bridge.

Jim pulled Wendy up. "You okay?"
Wendy buried her face into his shirt.

"Your arms. Are they…?"
"I'm fine," Wendy breathed. "Just take me home."
"Do you need a doctor?"
"Take me home."
Jim furrowed his brow. "Wendy—"

"Please."

Jim nodded. "Okay."

All that night, Wendy slept in Jim's arms in his bed. The night was dark and quiet…neither of them expected a thing to happen the next morning. It was supposed to be a normal day.

Neither knew what was coming.

She'd never love a guy like me.

-Adrian

Adrian drove the car down the rainy street and spotted a familiar girl on the sidewalk next to the salon. She waved. "HEY!"

Adrian stopped the car. "Miss Ariel?"
Ariel ran to the car and opened the door. "Ohhh, Adrian, I'm so glad you're here! My car broke down."
"That old car?" Adrian asked, frowning.

"I know, I know." Ariel sighed. "I need to get it fixed. I was wondering…could you take me home and come pick up the car tomorrow?"
Adrian nodded. "Absolutely. Get in."
As he drove back home, he looked at Ariel Triton's face. Her red hair was wet and matted down to the side of her face. Her eyes were bright blue, and she was wearing a white blouse.

But he was just the driver/gardener. He would never be able to get the attention of a beautiful rich girl like Ariel Triton.

Just like that, totally drained, Adrian stopped the car in front of the marble stairs. Ariel slid out of the car. "Thank you so much, Adrian," whispered Ariel. She kissed him on the cheek and ran up the stairs inside.

For the rest of the night, Adrian felt uplifted.

OMG, I freaking love Adrian so much! And he's not even REAL!