Hey! So now is the time for me to completely interrupt all the drama going on with Gracie and the turtles, and return to another important part of this story! Just a little break for me, but a much needed entry from the other side of this story. So, with that said, everybody, here's Alex!

Alex was shaken awake. He opened his eyes with a gasp to see his mother sitting in front of him with her hands on his shoulders, pulling him back and forth violently. "Alex!" She said loudly. He squinted at her, confused.

"What is it, Mom?" He mumbled, his voice gravelly. She stopped shaking him, seeing that he was awake. Her hands fell to her lap as her luminous emerald eyes scanned him worriedly.

"You were screaming in your sleep." She explained to him. Alex sat up. He realized that the front of his T-shirt was soaked with sweat. His eyebrows creased.

"I was?" He panted, noticing he was also very short of breath. His mother nodded, still giving him her typical 'worried mother' look.

"What was it about?" She asked him.

"What was what about?" He croaked.

"The dream." She said. "Do you remember?"

Alex shook his head, not being able to recall whatever he had dreamt of. "No." He said. His mother watched him carefully. After a moment, she stood.

"I'll get you some tea." She said. She bent forward and kissed him on his damp forehead.

"Thanks, Mom." He said as she began to walk away. She smiled at him. It was a comforting smile, but in her eyes there was worry and sadness for her son. Alex forced a small smile back, sure that he looked the same way.

His mother left the room and shut the door softly, leaving Alex to his thoughts. With a sigh, he swung his legs over the side of his bed, placing his hands on either side of him. His head hung as he tried to catch his breath. He ran a hand over his forehead and through his hair, then pulling it away, slick with moisture.

He looked up, gazing at his room. After what had happened, it was almost torturous to look at his room. All he could see was Gracie.

On the door to his closet was a scene that looked like it came from a children's fantasy, he and Gracie had drawn it when they were seven or eight, when Gracie had received a new pack of expensive markers from her mother -who had still been alive at that time- and she had gone straight to Alex's house to use them with him. He had no paper, and being so young and as excited as he was, he foolishly gave her permission to draw on his door. He had been lectured harshly by his mother and made to clean it off, but it never came off fully and he didn't care. He liked having it there as a constant reminder of his and Gracie's friendship, but now the reminder was painful.

To the other side of him, on his large window, his eyes picked out the large, jagged crack that ran across one of the corners. This was caused by him and Gracie as well, when they were both nine. Gracie had just lost her mother. Together, as they shared each other's pains, they had rampaged Alex's room in an attempt to satisfy their raging emotions. One of them had thrown a chair, and it had struck the window. When Alex's mother, who was not there at the time they had destroyed the bedroom due to a quick run across the hall to their next-door neighbor, returned and saw the huge mess, she had tiredly told Gracie that it was time for her to go home, and she cleaned the mess up herself, knowing the trauma they were both enduring. The window was never fixed.

His eyes continued roaming, looking down and spotting a slight stain in his carpet. That one was more recent, from when Gracie had come over a couple of month's ago and they had ordered a pizza. Unfortunately, Gracie had tripped on the way into the room and both her and the open pizza box face-planted into the floor. The pizza squished everywhere. Gracie and Alex had laughed hysterically, the only disappointment was the fact that they couldn't eat the pizza. Gracie had wanted too eat it, and was going too, but Alex had told her not to. The stain hasn't gone away yet.

The whole room was practically a ghost of Gracie. There was things of hers everywhere, from her old sweatshirts in his own dresser, to the whole entire shelf of cards and pictures that Gracie had given to him over the years.

He groaned, standing up and walking to his mirror. He was a mess. His heart hurt once again at yet another reminder of Gracie -there was a picture wedged into the side of the mirror of Gracie on her fourteenth birthday. She was at Alex's house, of course, because she tried to get away from her own whenever she could. Sarah and Ethan were there as well. The picture was of Gracie blowing out the candle's of her cake, her eyes shining with joy. Alex was next to her with his arm around her shoulder's as he watched her.

He remembers wondering what she was wishing for, wondering if she was wishing for a better life. He had asked her about it later, and she had smiled at him sadly, her cloudy eyes gazing at him tenderly. She had shook her head slowly, saying, "How could I ever dream of having anything better than you?" He had been touched by her words, though he knew it was a lie. He knew she was unhappy.

Alex looked away from the photo sadly, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He looked terrible. His shirt was filthy, drenched with sweat. His hair was sticking up everywhere and his face was dirty and wet as well, his eyes were dark from lack of sleep.

The nightmares happened often. He would wake up with a jolt, then never remember what they were about. Of course, he knew they were of Gracie. They had to be. Five days. She had been gone for five days now. It may not seem like much, but for Alex it was an eternity. He couldn't stand it.

Alex heard footsteps outside his door and headed back to his bed, resuming the position he had been in when his mother had left. She opened the door and entered with two steaming cups of tea. Alex had drunk it without a word. His mother than left, clicking the light off after her and leaving Alex by himself again. He stared into the darkness, waiting for sleep to consume him.

"Hey, Twiggy, what's up?"

Alex didn't even have to turn to know who it was. "Go away, Patrick." He said, continuing to eat his cafeteria lunch. He had no clue what it was, some kind of slop with a side of mush. He didn't care enough to have the amount of attention it takes to taste the junk served around here.

"Aww, come on, Slim Jim, I thought we were buddies!" Patrick Dunham said as he walked over and sat himself down heavily on the bench in front of Alex. Two of his cronies sat down on either side of him. Alex identified them as Tyler and Matt without looking up. They all stared intently at Alex, who didn't look back.

"You thought wrong." He said flatly as he picked up his lunch and stood, heading to the garbage to reunite his meal with its family. Normally, Alex would not have the guts to act out against Patrick, but without Gracie, he honestly didn't care what happened anymore. Alex heard the bench's squeaks of relief as the three of them stood up, then the loud footsteps as they pursued him. Alex proceeded to dump his food into the garbage can and place his tray on the counter to be taken away and washed. He turned around, to find himself face-to-face with Patrick, so close that their chests were practically touching.

Alex was taller than Patrick. Just by an inch or so, but it was always one of the that aggravated Patrick secretly. Patrick tried to look bigger and tougher as he glared at Alex. Alex stared at him blankly, the menacing look on the bully's face having no effect on him. This only made Patrick angrier.

"So, you don't want to be my, buddy, Beanpole?" Patrick asked, stepping forward and forcing Alex to move backwards. A few kids looked up from their lunches to watch what seemed to be a brewing fight. Alex still made no moves.

"Alex." He said calmly.

"What?" Patrick demanded.

"My name is Alex." Alex said. Patrick glared at him. "If you weren't so stupid, maybe you would've known." Alex then said. Everyone that had been listening to them stared at Alex in shock. There was soon a mass of whispers throughout the room as more people became aware of the exchange. Alex was shocked with himself as well, but from a different part of him. His mind was screaming to stop, to end it now before it got worse, but he couldn't stop. Alex hated Patrick, and all of the others that followed him and agreed with every stupid thing he ever said. And suddenly Alex wanted them to know.

Patrick suddenly shoved Alex, pushing him into the trash cans and knocking both him and the barrels over. Trash scattered everywhere. By this time, the whole cafeteria was watching what was now definitely a fight. Unfortunately for those preparing to see a good brawl, at that time the teacher that had been monitoring the lunchroom yelled, "Hey!" and began rushing towards the four boys. It was Ms. Kern. Almost all of the students in the school believed that she must be the oldest teacher in existence. They also thought she was the scariest. Her gray hair frayed out from the side of her head as she marched towards them, and the students had to fight hysteria as every single wrinkle she possessed seemed to ripple off of her frail body as she headed to the boys.

"What is going on here?" She said in her screechy voice as she stopped in front of the boys. Her piercing eyes looked between them as though she was a vulture searching for its next scrap of dead meat. No one said anything. The rest of the cafeteria had silenced as well, nervously looking away and pretending to resume eating their lunches as they avoided her assuming glares. Alex stared down at an empty milk carton beside his hand, not daring to look up at the teacher.

"You!" She finally said. Alex looked up to see with relief that she was referring to Patrick and his two followers. They all stepped back a bit when she stuck her bony finger out at them. "Come with me." She said. "And you." She then moved her finger to Alex, who was still on the floor, "Go to the nurse and get some new clothes." With that, she marched off again, three of the boys in tow. Alex stared after her. It was extremely unlike Ms. Kern to let anyone of the hook, and he could not see why he was any exception.

While Alex was watching them exit, Patrick turned around, locking his eyes directly onto Alex's. He squinted menacingly, lifted a finger and pointed it at Alex. Then he slowly retracted it and drew it across his neck, indicating death. Alex knew this wasn't over. Not by a long shot. He slowly got up from the floor and, ignoring everyone's wide-eyed stares, he cleaned the trash from the floor and righted the bin. Then he walked out of the room.

As soon as school was over, Alex headed for the park. The shirt he had gotten to replace his trash covered one was much to big for him, it hung loosely on his skinny figure, flapping in the cool wind as he walked. It was kind of chilly, coming onto Fall. Alex tried to cherish the sun while he could. It seemed the only thing worth cherishing now.

The park came into view, and he moved to a sprint, heading for the treeline and hoping that there was no one from school in the park. The only person close by as he entered the park was a girl about his age with a ponytail of red hair sitting on a bench right at the treeline. It was, in fact, April O'neil, but Alex did not know her. She looked up from the book she was reading as he approached her, and gave him a kind smile. He gave a little one back, her smile reminding him that not everyone in this world hated him. She seemed confused for a moment as he kept walking in her direction, but she seemed to realize where he was going as he passed her and walked into the trees. She went back to what she was doing once he had passed.

Alex broke out into a run again, maneuvering his way through the trees and heading to the special place that Gracie and him shared. He hadn't gone there since she had disappeared, and now as he ran through the trees, he was sad as he thought of all the times he had done the exact same thing with Gracie at his side. Though as he thought of Gracie, a hope emerged in him, as he thought of how Gracie always came here when she was upset or in some kind of problem. What if she is here? He thought to himself, just the thought of it making him run faster, until he realized that he was running as fast as he possibly could through the dense trees. Once he reached the fort, his heart stopped.

Somebody was in the fort.

He could just see the silhouette of the figure, and through the trees it was impossible to tell who was in there, but it had to be Gracie. Who else would come out here? He raced to the opening, a grin spreading across his face. "Grac-" He stopped again, his heart seeming to cease beating for the second time. It wasn't Gracie. It was Patrick.

Alex's grin immediately fell, his heart feeling as though it had caved in on itself. Patrick was in their fort, smirking at Alex.

"Expecting someone else, Toothpick?" Patrick asked. Alex just stared at him, the disappointment almost too much to bear. Patrick mistook Alex's wide-eyed look as fear, and laughed heartlessly. "Were you thinking your girlfriend would come back?" He sneered evilly. Alex's stare ended as his eyes narrowed at that comment.

"Don't talk about Gracie." Alex said in a low, almost growling voice. Patrick chuckled to himself again, looking down at Alex from his perch in the tree fort.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You actually are sad that she's dead, aren't you?" Patrick cooed, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Alex went rigid.

"She's not dead." He murmured, his green eyes shooting daggers of fury at Patrick. Patrick held a hand up to his ear.

"What's that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of your pathetic crying." He said, pretending to be trying to listen. Alex said nothing, his hand clenched in desperate fists. Desperate tears burn the edges of his eyes. "Oh boohoo, my girlfriend's dead. She went and killed herself because she was a loser with no friends." Patrick continued, pretending to cry.

Alex didn't know how it got there, but the next second, there was a large rock in his his hand, and the second later, it was hurling through the air, straight at Patrick's face. Patrick didn't even see it coming. It struck him directly in the center of the forehead. His head snapped backwards at the impact, and for a brief second Patrick just sat there, with his eyes wide in surprise.

"Gracie is not dead!" Alex screamed at him for the second time. Then the moment was gone, and Patrick's head snapped back up, blood spilling out of a large cut in the center of his forehead, running into his evil eyes. There was murder in those eyes.

"You're going to regret that, dumb ass."

Alex realized what he had done as Patrick climbed out of the fort, jumping down onto another branch, then jumping to the ground with a thud. He began walking towards Alex, who stepped away, his face showing what this time really was fear.

Patrick suddenly charged at Alex, yelling. Alex quickly ducked out of the way, just missing the attack. Patrick seemed to be a bit disoriented from the blow the rock gave him, as he almost ran directly into a tree. This made Alex feel at least a little safer. Patrick, infuriated, ran at Alex again, who sidestepped. Unfortunately, Alex's foot struck a tree root and Alex face planted. Before he could get up, Patrick placed his heavy foot atop Alex, knocking the breath out of him.

Alex struggled to get free, yelling, but it was no use. Patrick's weight crushed his smaller body to the point where Alex feared breaking his ribs. Then, Patrick grabbed the back of Alex's huge shirt and hoisted him up, slamming him into a tree. Alex cried out in pain as his body smashed into the rough bark. Patrick drew back a fist, ready to punch Alex in the face, when Alex kicked him in the groin.

This time it was Patrick's turn to cry out in pain as he dropped Alex and fell to his knees, yelling a long string of curses. Alex picked up a club-like stick, and began moving away. Patrick turned his head, noticing Alex attempting to escape. "Where are you going, Alex?" He said, for once calling Alex by his real name. "You to scared to fight?" Patrick got up again, turning to Alex. He eyed the stick Alex held, then seemed to decide that it was harmless, as he continued.

"Come on, French Fry, fight me. Do it for your girlfriend. Who knows? Maybe I killed her." He suggested with a wicked grin on his face. The thought suddenly made Alex's stomach turn sour.

"Ahhh!" Alex yelled as he charged towards Patrick, the club over his head. Dark hatred poured out of Alex as he rushed towards Patrick. Patrick didn't move. He knew Alex wouldn't hit him. He knew Alex was just trying to trick him into tripping or something so that the scrawny boy could then dash away. Boy, was he wrong.

The club cracked over top of Patrick's head. The bully's face held a look of sheer surprise, then Patrick crumpled to the ground. Alex stepped back, dropping the club. He stared at Patrick in horror, realizing what he had done. Immediately, he bent down and checked Patrick's pulse. Still beating. Alex took a breath of relief. He felt sick with himself. He had become a completely different person. He didn't like the new him. He needed Gracie.

Suddenly, Alex, too crumpled to the ground, landing on his knees with a sob. He wanted Gracie so badly it felt as though his heart had completely shriveled up, leaving a vast empty hole that sucked away his entire being. He sat crying for what seemed like a long time. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He jumped in surprise, whipping around.

It was the girl that had been reading on the bench. "Are you okay?" She asked. He just stared at her, his green eyes ringed with red from his tears. "I heard yelling, so I came to check it out. I saw what happened." She explained, looking at Patrick. Alex looked at him too, then back up at April. He felt like some kind of criminal. What he has done is terrible.

"How much of it?" Alex asked weakly, strangely not even feeling embarrassed by the fact that she had seen him crying. She shrugged.

"I came in right about the time you kicked him in the...masculinity." She said, rolling her eyes with a smile. "Nice one, by the way." She added, looking back down at him with an amused look on her face. Alex was surprised to find a weak, ghostlike smile appear on his face as well.

"Thanks." He said quietly.

"Yep." She said in answer of his thanks. "I'm April, by the way." She said. "April O'neil." She held out her hand. Alex took her hand hesitantly. He yelped with surprise when she yanked him off the ground, then shook his hand firmly.

"Uh, I'm Alexander. R-Rowe. Alexander Rowe." He said, stumbling over his words, caught off his guard by her boldness. "Alex is fine." He said, recovering. They dropped hands.

"It's getting dark. Let's get out of these trees." She said suddenly. Alex gave her a shocked look, then looked down at the guy laying face-down to the side of them.

"But what about him?" He asked. April shrugged, nonchalant.

"He'll be fine." She said, already walking away. Alex followed her, looking once again at Patrick, feeling bad that he couldn't muster up any concern for the jerk's health. Once they emerged from the treeline, April scooped her books up from the bench she had been sitting when Alex was entering the trees. She looked back at him.

"So, why are...were you fighting?" She asked, looking up at Alex with a curious look. Alex looked down, the very thought of the fight weighing him down with guilt. The thought of the reason of Alex's rage was worse.

"He's just a jerk." Alex said quietly, shaking his head. April scoffed.

"Well, duh he's a jerk, I know who he is. Patrick Dunham. He torments my little cousin constantly at school, and he's rude to me at my work too. You, on the other hand, don't seem like a bully at all. I can tell. So why were you so mad?" She asked, pushing the answer from him. Alex sighed sadly.

"Someone very important to me went missing five days ago... there's been no news of her since. Patrick knew that she was someone I loved very dearly, and decided to make fun of me for it. I don't know what happened... I just snapped. He's always been a jerk, but today..he stepped over the final line." Alex explained. April nodded, looking like she was thinking of something else.

"What was her name?" April said slowly in a quiet voice. Alex thought it was weird the way she said it, her voice held something close to fear as she asked.

"Gracie Hamilton." Alex almost choked on her name. April closed her eyes and nodded as though he had just confirmed something she had been thinking. When she opened her eyes again, they were full of sympathy. But her face held something else. She looked guilty, like she knew something he did not. Alex was instantly filled with suspicion. Suddenly, a there was a small ding, and April broke her sad look and reached down into her pocket. She pulled out what Alex knew was a phone, but he stared once he saw it. It was a strange shape, unlike any phone he had ever seen before.

"What do you want Donnie?" He heard her murmur to herself. Then she looked back up at him and jumped when she saw him staring as if he had suddenly yelled in her face when she wasn't expecting it. She immediately whipped around, blocking his view of the phone. His brows furrowed and he stared at her back, full of confusion.

"Oh my God." She suddenly whispered. She turned back to Alex, resting her phone atop her pile of books . Her face had drained of all color, her eyes were wide with fear. "I have to go." She whispered quickly. She began to run, but faltered mid-step. She looked back at Alex, she looked over his face, the piteous look had returned. She took his shoulders in her hands, gazing into his eyes. "Gracie's okay." She said it with such conviction, Alex immediately found himself believing her, as long with questioning her. Then she looked back at her phone, and Alex thought she muttered something, so low he could barely hear it. A cold shiver ran down his spine at what he thought he had heard.

"For now."

Drama, drama, wherever you go! So there's a chapter of Alex! You'll be seeing the turtles again in chapter TEN! This chapter is a little longer than others, so I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for reading! Please review and follow and favorite and all that junk! If you like this story and know anybody else who might, please spread the word! I'm eager to get more readers and it makes me so happy to see that so many people read and like my story! Thank you so much!