AN: Mentions drugs and underage drinking. Thank's to everyone for following, favoriting, and reviewing this story. Here's the next chapter everybody, enjoy. Don't forget to Review. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or it's characters.

Trouble

It's been a month since Castle disappeared and everyone was still looking for him. Most of his trail went cold, but Aunt Kate wasn't giving up. She was determined to find him. She rarely stays at Castle's place anymore, she's usually at her old apartment or working ghastly hours at the precinct.

Alexis and Mrs. Rodgers have been having a hard time. They've been trying to keep themselves busy with other things, so they didn't have to focus too much on his disappearance. I felt bad for them. Not knowing Castle's whereabouts is hurting us all inside. Hopefully we find him soon or he comes back on his own. I feel like I'm alone right now and everyone's been pretty busy with things, so I'm just left behind.

And everywhere I go seems to have something pertaining to the missing writer. There were newspapers and news programs talking about his disappearance. It was horrible and sometimes I just wanted to hide away and forget about all of this, but I couldn't do that. It's still clear in my mind and even if I did avoid the papers and the news, I'd still be reminded of him, especially since I live in his home.

The worst part about this whole thing though is that everyone missed my birthday. Since everyone's been so worried and busy lately, they completely forgot about it. The day after my birthday, it took several times to bring it up, until they actually realized it. They apologized, but they were still down in the dumps, so it wasn't that cheerful. I understood, I was pretty down myself, but it would have been nice to have a special card or birthday wish. I might be asking for a lot, but I think it would have boosted my spirits for at least a little bit on my special day.

Today though, Mike and Leon invited me to hang out with them. It was in a desolate area that people don't really go anymore. It was a pretty shady place and there was a lot of brush and woodlands surrounding a little rundown shack. We couldn't get into the little shack because it was pretty boarded up, so we stayed outside the building. Leon had some other friends with him and they were all older high school boys.

I felt a little uncomfortable at first, but after a while, I started to warm up to them. They were nice guys, a little rowdy, but they were entertaining. As we sat around the small fire that the older boys set up in an old trash can, Leon started talking to me, "Did they find anything yet?"

"No… They've pretty much hit a dead end in the case," I said.

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. I came out here to escape that though… I don't want to think about Castle's disappearance."

"Wait, you know that writer that went missing?" Jasper, one of Leon's friends, asked me.

"Yes… He was going to be my uncle."

"Sweet!"

"Is it true that you've been abducted a lot and you almost died?" Troy, Leon's other friend, asked.

"Come on… Don't ask her that," Leon said.

"It's fine. I have been through a lot. I've been taken several times and I had amnesia once. I've also been buried alive. I admit, I've had a hectic four years," I said.

"Wow, you're like super cool. Most little kids are boring and cry babies," Jasper said with a snort.

"Yeah, we usually give them swirlies before or after school. A bunch of losers," Troy chuckled.

"You guys seem like jerks," Mike said.

Leon hit him upside the head and said, "Shut up. You're lucky your even here. Middle schoolers would give anything to hang out with us high schoolers."

"Yeah… I know."

"So, what are we gonna do? I didn't come here to sit and chat," Jasper said.

"I couldn't break into my father's liquor cabinet today. Could have gotten some more booze like last time," Troy said.

"I brought some left over firecrackers we had from New Years," Leon said as he took them out of his bag.

There were so many different types of firecrackers there, big, medium, and small. It seemed dangerous, but it sounded kind of fun.

"Sweet! Aren't some of these illegal?" Jasper asked.

"Um… I think so. Not real sure," Leon said with a shrug.

"I have my lighter with me, so we can light 'em up."

"Awesome."

"Here, I'll help set them up," Troy said as he grabbed some from Leon.

The three teenagers started setting up the fireworks and Mike and I watched in awe. Who would have thought we'd be hanging with high school kids and doing illegal things? If Aunt Kate ever found out about this, I think I'd be more than grounded. I leaned over to Mike and asked him a question, "Do you think this will end well?"

"No, knowing my brother and his new stupid friends, they're going to mess something up," Mike said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, they don't seem too bright."

"Nope, Jasper got held back twice. He's barely passing this year. They're a bunch of imbeciles."

"Then why are we hanging with them?"

"I want to be cool. And my brother and his friends won't give me any wedgies or swirlies."

"I guess that's good, but your brother should be nice to you."

"He is when they aren't around. He just wants to fit in. High school is hard."

"Yeah, school in general is hard."

"True that."

"Come on you two losers, help us out over here," Troy said loudly from where he was setting up another firework.

We walked over to them and Jasper and Leon gave us both a small firework.

"You two do the honors and put the last two fireworks over there," Jasper said.

We nodded and went over to the spot that he mentioned. We both set up our firework and walked back over to the older boys.

"All right gentlemen and lady, let's get this show on the road," Jasper said.

He took out his lighter and lit up the first small one on the ground. We all took a step back and watched as the spark climbed the string at a fast speed. Once it reach the end, the firework made a small popping sound and whizzed into the air. It went pretty high before it exploded and lit up the partially dark sky. It wasn't late yet, but it was starting to get a little dark outside, so we could see the colors vaguely.

"That was pretty awesome," Troy said.

"Let's do some more," Leon said.

"Okay," Jasper said.

By the time we finished lighting them all up, it was already around seven o'clock at night. We were all sitting around the small fire again and the older boys were cracking themselves up. Well it could be the weed they were smoking, but they seemed pretty mellow and happy. Someone's phone started buzzing and it turned out to be Jaspers. He looked at the screen before he picked it up and said, "Hey, Chad. Yeah man… No you didn't… Seriously, that's freaking awesome… We're at the spot… Yeah, the spot… Nah not that spot, the other spot… Yeah that one… Okay, see you soon, dude… Bye…"

"Is Chad coming?" Troy asked with a raised brow.

"Yup and he got some booze. Man this day couldn't have been any better."

"This is like our normal day," Leon said.

"Huh, yeah I guess it is. Ha-ha, man this is so dope."

"Maybe we should go," Mike whispered in my ear.

"Why?" I asked.

"Do you really want to be around four drunk and high teenagers?"

"I don't want to go home yet."

"Fine… but if they get out of hand we're leaving."

"All right."

"Hey, what are you telling her, turd?" Jasper said as he sat between us.

""Nothing," Mike said.

Jasper pulled him close to him and said, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Awe…" Troy said from across and started making kissy noises.

"Shut up," Mike mumbled.

"Awe, you're all embarrassed. You like her," Jasper said pinching his cheeks.

"No... She's just a friend."

"Awe what a shame. She's so cute too."

I blushed a bit and Mike said, "Leave us alone."

"You need to mellow out, Mike. Here have some."

Jasper handed him the blunt and Mike shook his head no.

"Come on… It's fine."

Mike looked at his older brother for help and Leon said, "It's not gonna hurt baby bro. Try it, you're almost thirteen."

Mike looked at it for a bit and let out a sigh. He took it into his fingers and said, "Just one puff."

"That a boy," Jasper said as he squeezed Mike's shoulders.

Mike put the blunt to his lips and took a hit. He coughed hysterically and all of the boys started laughing at him. Jasper took it back and went to sit by Troy again.

"You okay?" I asked Mike.

He nodded slowly and still coughed a bit.

"That's so gross," he said groggily.

"Ha-ha, you'll get used to it. Just keep hanging out with us and you'll get the hang of it squirt," Troy said.

"Yay, I get to be a part of a bunch of burnouts."

"Shut up, before I pound you, got that?"

"Yeah…"

"Yo, where ya at?" a voice sounded from afar.

"Just follow the weed dude," Jasper laughed.

"You guys are so stupid," the guy said as he came into view.

"Nah, you're stupid for hanging out with high schoolers," Troy said.

"Well if I wasn't cousins with this dumbass, I'd be going to my college parties."

"Yeah, the ones you ain't invited to," Jasper said with a snort.

"Hey, the best part of a party is the people who crash the parties."

"Best logic ever."

"Who are the little twerps?"

"That's Leon's brother Mike and that's his girlfriend, Emily."

"She's not my girlfriend," Mike grumbled.

"Well nice to meet you little dude and dudette," Chad said with a small smirk.

"You to Chad," I said.

Chad started passing out beer cans to his friends and then he handed one to Mike and I.

"We're twelve," Mike said.

"So, I started when I was eleven. Not like there's anyone here to bust us," Chad said.

Mike and I looked at the beer and I wondered if I should do it. I'm pretty sure no one at home would notice. Aunt Kate is rarely there and I could usually sneak back into my room.

"Don't do it Emmy," Mike said.

I shrugged and said, "One can't hurt, right?"

He bit at his lip and said, "Yeah, sure."

"There you go. Woohoo, party bros," Chad screamed loudly.

The beer tasted nasty and I only had a few sip before I poured the rest out. I don't think anyone really noticed because they were all pretty out of it. I felt bad for Mike, he started on one beer and then he went onto another. He wasn't looking to hot, but he was having fun with the rest of the guys. I guess the alcohol and weed mellowed him out a bit.

"Yo, I got some sweet whiskey too. How about some shots you little delinquents," Chad said.

"I don't know…" Mike said as he swayed in his spot.

"Not you little man, I think you're done," Chad said with a laugh.

"Yeah bro, I'm gonna have to carry your but home. Hopefully mom and dad won't be up," Leon said.

"Yup," Mike said as he hiccupped.

The guys laughed at him and they filled up their cups with a couple of drops of the amber liquid. Chad raised his glass and said, "To my three little shit head high school delinquents."

"Hear, hear!" the three boys yelled.

They all drank back the liquid and groaned after it went down.

"Ugh… it burns," Troy said.

"Yeah… Ew, so gross," Leon said.

"Ha, you guys are such newbs," Chad chuckled as he poured himself another shot.

"Hey… You know what would be fun?" Jasper asked.

"What?" Troy asked with a grin.

"We burn down this shitty shack."

"Whoa so cool. It'll be like a huge bonfire," Leon said.

"Yeah, let's do it."

"I'll pour some of the liquor on it," Chad said as he made his way over towards the shack.

He pulled off the cap from the bottle and splashed the liquid onto parts of the shack.

"Um… This is a little dangerous guys," I said, standing up to them.

"Don't be a party pooper, Emily. It's fun," Jasper said as he poked me in the shoulder.

"Don't… Don't' touch her," Mike said as he tried to stay steady on his feet.

"Whatever," Jasper said as he walked away.

"Mike you don't look so good," I said.

"I feel horrible," Mike said.

Mike's eyes went wide and he ran over to a tree where he started to puke.

"You're bro is puking, Leon," Troy said.

"Great," Leon said.

Jasper took out his phone and started taking pictures, "Oh man, this is funny as hell."

"Come on, leave him alone. You could all go to juvie you know," I said.

"Yeah, so what. Wouldn't be my first time there, and you'll be right there with us."

I huffed and said, "Just give Mike some space."

"Standing up for your boyfriend is so adorable," Jasper said as he patted my head.

"He's not my boyfriend," I said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… Whatever you two say."

"Jasper, lets light this up," Chad said by the shack.

"All right," Jasper said as he went over to him.

"Do you have some paper?"

"I do," Troy said.

Chad took it and held it out for Jasper to light. Jasper flicked on his lighter and lit the paper up. Chad threw the paper onto the shack and it went up in flames. It was so bright and hot that I had to back up a bit.

"Holy hell, that's freaking awesome!" Jasper practically screamed.

"Wow, it's so bright. It's sweet!" Leon said with wide eyes.

"Man I wish we had some s'mores," Troy said.

I shook my head at the drunk and high boys who watched the flames in amazement. I walked over to Mike who was leaning against a tree haphazardly.

"You feeling all right?" I asked him.

"Better now that I've puked out my guts," Mike said with a weak smile.

"I guess that's good."

"Yeah… So he took pics of me?"

"Yeah he did, but at least they're kind of dark and since he was drunk, they're pretty blurry too."

"I guess that's good."

"You should get home and get some sleep."

"You too… How comes you aren't drunk?"

"I poured most of mine out."

"And you let me drink all of mine."

"Hey, don't blame me. You also had two others."

He groaned and said, "Next time, stop me."

"I will."

Sirens were sounding in the distance and everyone started to panic.

"What do we do?" Jasper asked.

"They're probably not even for us," Chad said with a laugh.

"We don't know that."

"We should get out of here," Leon said.

"I'm right there with you," Troy said.

They started grabbing their stuff and Leon helped his brother, who was practically slumped against him. We started leaving and flashlights were making their way through the brush. We tried to run as fast as we could, but since they were all pretty wasted, they were running pretty sloppily.

"Split up! They won't catch us if we split," Jasper said.

"Yeah," Chad said.

"Catch you losers later," Troy said.

We all split up and I had no clue where I was going. I made my way thought the small patch of woods we were in and a flashlight came into view. I didn't have the time to hide before the light was pointed in my face. I squinted at the uniformed police officer in front of me and he said, "You're coming with me."

I nodded and he pulled me along and out to the road. There were about three patrol cars and in the distance I could see the smoke from the burning shack. The officer started talking into his radio in a hushed voice and a few seconds later it crackled loudly as another voice echoed through. They communicated back and forth a few times before he looked at me.

"Who else was with you?" he asked me.

"No one," I said.

"Come on, It's late and I have other thing to do. Now who else was with you?"

"No one."

The officer sighed and said, "Fine… I don't have time for this. You're just a minor and I'm leaving you off with a warning."

"Thank you."

"Where do you live?"

"Uh…"

"Come on kid. We don't have all day."

Another officer came out of the woods and said, "Couldn't find the others."

"Great… Maybe we'll get something from what we find."

"Yeah… Isn't that Detective Beckett's niece or something?" officer two asked, looking at me with recognition.

"Oh… Is it really?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," officer two came up to me and asked, "Are you Emily Beckett?"

"Yes…" I said with a sigh.

"Well Officer Shanahan, I guess we have to drop her off with her aunt."

"Do you think she's working now?"

"No doubt about it. She's been looking into her missing fiancés case for a while now. She rarely goes home anymore."

"All right. Come on kid, let's go," the officer said as he put me in the back of his patrol car.

We arrived at the twelfth precinct and onto Aunt Kate's floor. Both officers escorted me into the place and Ryan and Esposito were the first to lay eyes on me. They looked at me in shock and I hung my head low. We went up to Aunt Kate's desk and she was busy looking at her paper work, not even knowing we were here.

"Detective Beckett," Officer Shanahan said.

She looked up and her hazel eyes grew wide in shock. Her face soon turned into one of anger and she asked, "What did she do?"

"We caught her in the woods. She was with some others, but we couldn't catch them and she didn't give them up. They burned down an old shack, drinking alcohol, and what seemed to smell like weed."

"They did…? Thank you officers. Are you charging her with anything?"

"No, ma'am. We thought a warning would be good enough. I have a feeling you'll handle it."

"Yes, thank you very much. Goodnight."

"Goodnight detective."

They left and my aunt laid her fiery hazel eyes on mine. She looked extremely pissed and I knew I was in some hot water.

"Sit," was all she said as she pointed to the seat by her desk.

I sat down and started to say, "But aunt…"

"No, I don't want to hear it. We'll talk when we get back to my apartment."

I went quiet and slumped down into the seat I was occupying. I heard Esposito and Ryan mumbling behind me and I felt extremely embarrassed. I was in so much trouble once I get back to Aunt Kate's apartment. Now I have to sit here and wait, thinking about the long lecture and punishment my aunt was going to give me.

A very long hour later, we finally went to her apartment. As soon as we went through the door, my aunt pointed to the couch. She paced in front of me for a few seconds and said, "I'm so disappointed with you! You know what's been going on and you do this!"

"It's not like you're around. I needed to get out of there. I needed to forget about Castle," I said.

"Emily that is not the way to do it! You know what happened to your mom!"

"I know that, but I didn't do any of those things… Well I did take a sip of beer, but I dumped the rest out."

"But Emily, you could have been arrested and wound up in juvie for the night. Do you really want to go down that path?'

"No, and I'm not going to. I was just hanging with the wrong people."

She ran a hand through her long hair and said, "Em, please don't do this."

"Do what?"

"Start acting out. I can't deal with that right now. Losing Castle was hard enough, but having you breaking rules and turning into a delinquent is not helping me."

"What do you want me to do? Sit at home and listen to everyone crying, or watching the latest news on Castle's disappearance."

"Emily, I know this is hard. It's hard on all of us and I'm doing my best to find him."

"Yeah, I know you are, but I wish you'd make time for me. Everyone's been forgetting about me, leaving me to cope by myself. It's not fair."

"Emily I know this past month has been rough, but we're all trying to get through this."

"Whatever," I said as I tried to leave.

She grabbed my arm and said, "Don't you dare leave. We aren't done yet."

"Let me go."

I tried to pull away from her as hot tears streamed down my face. She pulled me to her and I leaned into her embrace. She stroked my hair and said, "I know, Em…. I know… I'm sorry I haven't been there for you. Please promise me you won't get into any more trouble."

I sniffled and said, "I promise Aunt Kate. I'm really sorry. I should have left the minute they started to make trouble."

"It's okay…. You've been going through a lot. I'm sorry I've been neglecting you."

"Its fine, I know this is harder on you than anyone else. I know you want to find him."

"Yeah, I do…" I heard her sniffle and she continued, "Next time you feel down or need someone to talk to, just call me or find me, okay?"

"Yeah, I will."

"Good and if you can't find me, I'm sure Alexis and Mrs. Rodgers wouldn't mind the company."

I nodded and said, "Thank you, Aunt Kate."

"Not a problem, Em. You helped me realize that I've been pretty caught up in this investigation."

"It's not that bad though. We'll find him, right?" I asked looking up at her.

She grabbed my face with her hands and said, "I hope so… I really do."

She gave me a small kiss on the forehead and then pulled me into another tight hug.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" I asked.

"Yeah, definitely. We both need to be together tonight."

She grabbed my hand and we went to her room, cuddling in her bed together. We may have had a hard night tonight, but we both know that tomorrow we'll go back to the same thing we've been doing for a month. But I don't really care, tonight is tonight, and tomorrow is tomorrow. I think this might be the first real sleep we've gotten since he went missing and we need that more than anything.