Thank you for beta'ing, MsSchneeheide! Happy two year anniversary of season 7!

As soon as Maritza has confessed to Blanca about her strange new power, something takes her and she suddenly has to go. She's not even sure how she got here; surely, Vee and Humps would be angry if she just decided to leave the brothel out of the blue. She'd been in the middle of a shift, so her customer must be pretty irate, too. She feels like she's having an out-of-body-experience.

Had he knocked her out? Had she fainted?

"I gotta go back to mi trabajo, Mami y Raiza, ¡adiós!" Maritza waves at Blanca and Raiza and disappears around the corner. In a millisecond, she finds herself on the fancy carpeted floor, slowly coming to. She's confused and disoriented and through her hazy vision, she can see her client getting off of her. "Yo, what the fuck just happened?" she asks herself softly. "Ay dios mío...did you just rape me while I was unconcious?!" she snaps while sitting up and sliding back into her light blue lingerie.

"You were good, little whore," is all he says before tossing a hundred dollars at her and leaving the room.

"Qué mierda, that creep..." She's so horrified and she winces at the pain between her legs.

Near her, Amber snorts cocaine off Vanessa's hand as the latter makes out with Alejandro. He looks old enough to be her father, which is so gross. Maritza doesn't know how Vanessa can stand it, especially when she is clearly into Amber and can easily have sex with rich women for money to pay for an entire year of college.

Walking down a corridor, Maritza spots Nicky lighting up a cigarette and placing it between her lips. She sucks it, blows out a puff of smoke, and watches it fade up into nothingness. It looks cool and Maritza has done pot before, but she's not feeling up to it right now.

"Bitch, do that outside!" Talia complains, coughing and fanning her mouth.

"Don't stand so close to me."

"Sorry, baby, but she's right," Shani murmurs. "You'll char your lungs black. I can't lose you."

"We're dying a little every day that we're in here, sweet girl," Nicky says morosely. They wave at Maritza and she returns the gesture.

Still feeling slightly bewildered from whatever had happened to her earlier today, Maritza relaxes with her co-workers at the end of her shift. They're sharing a bottle of champagne, celebrating the end of a hard week at work.

"You alright, kid?" Nicky asks, jutting her chin toward Maritza.

"Of course...just enjoying the high from the liquor! If my mom asks why I smell like alcohol, I'll say someone spilled it on me or something. I dunno...I'll figure it out." She sips some of her drink from a flute.

"That's awesome...it is pretty nice! It's just that you seem, I dunno, lost?" Shani looks at her, concerned.

"No...I guess I been down lately, but anyone would be if they were homeless."

Brook shrugs. "Makes sense to me."

"Yeah," the others chorus.

"Thank fuck we can escape our desolate realities for a while! At least I met all of you," Maritza states positively. "Can one of y'all tell me something neat, though? I need to hear it."

"I was trying to find a moment to say this, but this is the perfect opportunity! I'm leaving the brothel for good," Michelle announces. This news snaps Maritza out of her confused state for the moment.

"Wow, congratulations!" Maritza gushes.

"What? Really?" Shani asks.

"Damn, how'd that happen?" Nicky wants to know.

Michelle shrugs and gives them a bashful smile. "I'm moving into my own place, thanks to Alex."

"How is she, by the way?" Nicky wonders aloud.

"She's doing pretty great...still a drug dealer, but not hooked on her product. She cares more about me than that shit."

"Hey, good for you...I wish I had a sugar mama," Brook mutters, sounding slightly jealous.

"Keep prayin' to Beyoncé," Maritza advises her and the five of them chuckle together.

"We'll miss ya," Nicky says.

"Hell yes, we will! Best of luck in the next life!" Shani chimes in.

"Hope you never need to come back here again," Maritza puts in.

"Ditto!" Brook adds.

"Thanks…and if we see you in the street, I'll make sure to say hi!"

"Cool!" they tell her in unison.

They envelop Michelle into a group embrace one last time before she returns to a hopefully normal life.

"Okay, I'll see you chicas tomorrow," Maritza says after a beat. She hugs each of her friends goodbye, turns on her heel, and walks out. When she's finished maneuvering through the crowd at the Indigo Club, she passes Boo and waves at her.

"Later, squirter."

Maritza rolls her eyes at Boo's nickname for her. "Adiós."

She exits the club's doors and the cold air hits her face, but the rest of her is protected by gray jeans, brown boots, a long sleeved red top, a black jacket, red and black striped gloves, a knitted black beanie, and a matching scarf. She puts her straightened hair into a bun with a scrunchie so Blanca won't ask why it had been flat-ironed. While she walks to the nearest grocery store, she adjusts her glittery light blue purse on her shoulder. She buys several meatball subs, a big bag of Doritos, and three waters.

On her way to Levine Home for the Aged, she senses a tug on her purse from behind, but she holds it tighter. She makes a small sound of surprise and spins around, clutching her belongings and stepping back a few feet. "Yo, what the fuck?" she growls, glaring at the asshole. "I'm homeless! You think I got shit for you, pinche gringo, 'cause I don't!"

"Gimme your goddamn money!" he yells, whipping out a gun from his pocket. She's horrified as he shakes it in her face. He looks like a thug. "Come on, I don't got all day! You'll be a dead spic cunt in a minute!"

Trembling, she takes out her wallet and throws it at him. He drops the gun and grabs her, forcing her down to the snowy ground. Her heart hammers hard in her chest as she struggles beneath him. "Help me! Please!"

She lets out a bloodcurdling shriek; it's so loud it could be considered a supersonic scream and she kicks at him powerfully while he tries to violate her. He can't even get her pants open or her jacket unzipped before she throws him off her, much to both of their shock. She's not even sure how she did it. Panting heavily, she jumps up and stomps on his face as he's struggling to stand up. He tries to swipe at her ankle, but she jams her other boot into his sensitive region.

"Aaaagh, you bitch!" he hollers.

She picks up his gun and points it at him threateningly while gathering her bag of food and water and her purse in one go. "Can't talk now, huh? Maybe this experience'll teach you not to try mugging and then raping women. Don't try to follow me...I'll shoot your ass on sight!" With that, she runs off.

"Maritza? ¿Qué está mal?" Blanca asks as Maritza sprints into the nursing home.

What's wrong?

"Casi me asaltan y violan. Pero no te preocupes, estoy bien." Maritza lowers her voice as Blanca gasps loudly in fear and hugs her.

I almost got mugged and raped. But don't worry, I'm fine.

"Ay dios mío, mi nena…I'm so relieved you're okay!" Blanca leads her outside. They have to meet Raiza and Allie at the ice skating rink now.

"I was a badass and even got his gun. I lost nada!" Maritza proudly informs her mother. "Like, I can't explain it, he was strong...but I wasn't as weak as I thought I was…"

"Porque no eres débil...pero tienes que tirar esa pistola, ¿me oyes?"

Because you're not weak...but you need to throw away that gun, you hear me?

"Mami, it's for protection!" she protests. "What if Dean-"

"No sabemos si está cargada cómo usarla. I don't want us getting hurt. Por favor, Maritza…" Blanca practically begs her, squeezing her hands.

We don't know if it's loaded or how to use it.

"Fine," she grumbles and takes it out of her purse. She tosses it into a nearby trash can and stares at it for a moment with her arms folded across her chest.

"Gracias, querida."

"De nada."

Blanca puts her hands on either side of Maritza's face and gazes at her sadly while kissing her cheek. Maritza returns the gesture. Tears swim in Blanca's eyes and she wraps her arms around Maritza. "No quiero pensar nunca en que algo malo les pase a alguna de las dos chicas. Te quiero mucho…"

I don't ever want to think about something bad happening to either of you girls. I love you so much…

"I love you too, Mami," she murmurs, feeling safe in her mom's arms.

"I don't want you coming here by yourself anymore after work. Haz que Vee te lleve a la tienda a recoger comida y luego te deje aquí."

Have Vee drive you to the store to pick up food and then drop you off here.

"¿Por qué? I totally fought him off!"

"Sí, y estoy orgullosa de ti, pero puede que no funcione tan bien la próxima vez. Besides, you could stay later and make more dinero!"

Yes, and I'm proud of you, but it might not work out so well next time.

"Okay." Maritza nods. "I will. No puedo creer que nunca lo vi venir…I guess I gotta be touching the person to see their future."

I can't believe I never even saw him coming…

"¿Alguna vez has visto el mío?"

Have you ever seen mine?

"Sí, pero no te lo voy a decir. ¡Es una sorpresa! Don't worry, though, it's nothin' bad." Maritza can't even hide her smile. "I'd tell you if it was about Dean."

Yes, but I'm not telling you. It's a surprise!

Blanca relaxes. "¡Oh, eso es bueno! Not even a hint?"

Oh, that's good!

Maritza shakes her head, still grinning slyly.

"Hey, look who the cat dragged in! Playboy's Vulcan of the Month!"

Alex rolls her eyes. "Nice to see you as well, Boo!"

A large, masculine female bouncer dressed in a tux lets Alex in and then inspects the others. "Vause is a regular here, but who the fuck are you kids?"

"We're not kids," Flaca states quickly. She and her friends are all wearing jeans, boots, and multicolored flowered blouses in purple, dark pink, green, and navy blue. There has, unfortunately, been no sign of Maritza, Blanca, or Raiza, and they're more than ready to relax. They can look for the Floreses tomorrow. "We just been road trippin' it and came here after Angelo's Pizza, bro!"

"Um, yeah, we're all clearly over twenty-one!" Elena chimes in.

Boo snickers. "Calm all your tits, I don't give a fuck if you are or not, the only thing I care about is people who may be a danger to patrons and staff here, and you ladies look harmless...and god damn sexy. Welcome to the Indigo Club! Make my girl Pennsafucky rich with tequila shots or some shit like that." She ushers them in and they start dancing to the loud, wild music under a spinning bejeweled gold disco ball, flicking light everywhere. Everything has a neon blue tint.

"Dude, that butch was starin' at me!" Janae complains.

"Yeah, me too, it was creepy," Flaca grumbles.

"She wouldn't if she knew we were under eighteen! Look, if she tries to make a move, we'll stop her!" Ceci points out.

"Plus, you girls have moi if anything goes wrong!" Alex points to herself proudly.

"That's true! She can throw a punch if she needs to!" Katie grins at her big sister.

"Can we have one drink each?" Poussey asks. Her girlfriend Franziska slings an arm around her shoulders and pecks her cheek lovingly. Flaca smiles at their cuteness.

"We promise we won't get completely smashed!" Taystee chimes in.

"Mm-hm, I'm so ready for the buzz!" Daya practically shrieks over the fast pumping beats.

"Girl, yes!" Cat and Maria holler at the same time and Daisy squeals.

"Hey, Tucky!" Alex waves at the short, skinny, white female bartender as she leads the girls to the counter. The brunette looks up at her with a grin. "These are my younger sister and her friends." As they get closer and take their seats on the barstools, Flaca can read the woman's name tag, Tiffany D. "They're just getting one drink each," Alex says pointedly.

"'Sup, sasquatch?" Tiffany greets Alex, who gives her a head nod. "Alright, you bitches got ID?" The girls excitedly show her their fake ones. "Okay, whaddy'all want?" she asks. They exchange eager expressions at the fact that Tiffany believes them to be of legal drinking age. It's either that or she just doesn't care, like Boo.

"Long Island iced tea, por favor," Flaca says politely.

"I'd love a glass of rosé wine!" Elena orders.

"A cold bottle of Corona beer would be delightful," Daya murmurs.

"Hmm...a martini, por favor," Ceci adds.

"Sex on the Beach and add ten maraschino cherries!" Taystee puts in gleefully.

Poussey beams along with her best friend. "Mountain Dew with hooch! Heavy on the liquor."

Pennsatucky points at her. "You got the right idea there! I like you."

"Cosmopolitan," Franziska decides aloud.

"I'd like a banana margarita," Janae chimes in.

Daisy thinks for a minute. "Strawberry daiquiri!"

"Screwdriver!" Cat exclaims.

"Rum and Diet Coke!" Katie says pleasantly.

"Vodka with Sprite!" Maria smirks.

"You got it!" Pennsatucky turns to Alex. "I'll get your usual, Blue Moon Beer, right?"

Alex nods. "Yeah, thanks!"

"Who wants theirs on the rocks?"

Flaca, Cat, Daisy, Janae, Maria, Taystee, Poussey, Ceci, and Katie raise their hands gleefully.

As soon as Pennsatucky makes all their drinks, she sets each one down in front of them. Each girl pays for herself since Alex isn't made of money, which Flaca totally understands. Pennsatucky collects eleven ten-dollar bills and then they chip in for a big plate of cheese fries to share.

When they finish eating and drinking, they start dancing wildly to the songs that are playing. "Booze, booze, booze!" they chant and then crack up hysterically. Flaca giggles as Alex and Elena spin her around. She's a little hammered, as she'd guzzled her beverage, but she doesn't regret it one bit. She loves being buzzed. Her whole body feels light and her head is in a fog. "God, I'm so fuckin' drunk! I feel so freeeeee!"

"Me too!" the rest of them murmur in unison.

"Daaaaayum, that boy hella fine!" Elena squeals and Flaca follows her gaze to a muscled black guy dressed in baggy blue pants, a gray sweatshirt, and sneakers. A backwards baseball cap sits on his head and he has a full beard. He's wearing grills on his teeth, which look disgusting. "I want him as mi novio."

Ceci wolf-whistles. "Girl, you might have to fight me for him!"

"Bitch, me too!" Cat shouts in a giggly voice.

"No, he's mine!" Daisy growls playfully.

"Bet he's got a big-ass Nubian thang!" Taystee rocks her hips back and forth and the girls start cackling.

"Oh, he sure do, honey!" Janae yells shrilly. "Holy fuck, he's so ripped!"

"If it weren't for Adarsh, I'd climb that chico like a tree," Daya slurs while clumsily resting her elbow on Ceci's shoulder.

"I've already got Yadriel...I've tried the affair thing with Manuel, but he's a loser," Maria states. "How about you, Flaca, if Ian wasn't in the picture?"

Flaca purses her lips and shakes her head. "Nah, like he's hot, but he ain't my type. Besides, he probably got a novia. I don't waste my time with idiots who are just gonna break my heart, and neither should y'all."

"Horny as hell straight girls, am I right?" Poussey asks rhetorically. "They're practically drooling over dat dude!"

"Um, yeah!" Franziska agrees, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

Maria puts her hands up. "Hey, don't include me in their bullshit!"

"I dare one of you knuckleheads to go on up there and make a move on him!" Poussey announces.

Flaca raises her hands in surrender. "Hey, don't include me in this! I prefer Ian shaven since beards are hella scratchy. Then, it's annoying 'cause the stubble is prickly, too…since he don't do it right. I like a smooth face." She points to the object of most of her friends' desire. "That one's like, too fuckin' hairy."

"Ooooh, we can all stride up to him and dance around him like we the Pussycat Dolls and he Will. I. Am!" Katie suggests.

"Yaaaaassss, queen!" Taystee says giddily and they fan themselves.

Alex groans. "All of you girls are way too young for him!" she whispers, effectively blocking their view while swaying from side to side. "He's at least twenty-five, come on!"

"Ugh! Why are you such a pain in my ass? We're gonna go over there, whether you like it or not."

"Ashley Katherine Ford…" Alex starts warningly and restrains her from going any further.

"Whaaat?" Katie frowns and pulls away from her. "I thought you were supposed to be my cool, older sister...not Mom or Dad!" she complains. "Just let me and my babes have a blast in the hottest place in the world! It ain't like we wanna fuck him or nothin'!"

"Speak for yourself," Ceci states and chews on her bottom lip, still staring lustfully at the older guy after peering around Alex. "He's a total sex god!"

Janae pulls Ceci back from trying to approach him. "Remember, we can't go near him, the white lady said so!" She glares daggers at Alex.

"Hey, that's not fair, I'm in charge of you!" Alex protests.

"Nobody's paying you to babysit," Daisy grumbles.

"Shit, he just left anyway," Cat says sadly.

Maria shrugs. "Good, now I won't be tempted!"

"Thanks a lot! We missed our chance!"

Alex sets her fists on her hips and gives her baby sister a stern look. "Did I not just bring you here?"

"You don't gotta be so bossy!" Katie snaps. "Listen, just cause you don't want the D, doesn't mean you gotta stop us from flirting with a cute boy! Quit bein' a fun-sucker."

"Hey! Stop with the tone. I'm trying to protect you!" Alex hisses. "All of our parents would kill me if something awful happened to any of you. I'm responsible for you...I can't just let you loose and go crazy! Men are pigs…they take advantage of chicks in vulnerable states, such as being inebriated."

"Well, then that would be his fault, not any of ours! Don't be a victim blamer!"

"I'm not, it's called taking safety precautions. You don't wanna hit him up first and then when he sexually assaults you, he accuses you of asking for it."

Flaca rolls her eyes. "Ay, drama con su hermana," she mutters, glancing in the sisters' direction and linking arms with Elena.

drama with her sister

"Lo sé," Elena murmurs. "Pero, Alex gotta chill."

"Woman's got a point, though."

Alex sighs impatiently, combs her hand through the blue highlights in her hair, and pushes her glasses further up on her nose. "Look, why don't you girls just take pictures but not post them anywhere, so nobody gets in trouble?"

"Yeah, Kay, what your sis said," Poussey murmurs. "This is chicks only night, after all!"

Katie folds her arms over her chest. "Okay," she gives in after a while.

"Don't worry, bitches, we can do whatever we want when she ain't around." Daya grins deviously.

"That's correct, but at this moment, I'm not letting any of you outta my sight."

Katie scoffs. "You know you're eight years older than your new girlfriend, right? I hear you say her name in your sleep!" She hugs herself and pretends to kiss the air. "Ohhhh, Michelle! I love you sooooo much! Imma throw you the hottest twenty-sixth birthday party evah...puh-lease! She's not even older than the goddamn Cullens in Twilight yet! Like, wait until she's got a year on Esme. Twenty-seven."

"We're both adults, that's the difference!" Alex shoots back. "You're sixteen."

"It's two years away from eighteen."

"Ha! Like you'll win that argument. I've tried it on Mami y Abuela before, didn't work," Ceci mumbles.

"Ay dios mío, ¡basta!" Flaca holds up her phone in front of the group. She's so over her straight friends' crush at the moment and simply wants to enjoy her time with all of her girls. "Selfie time, chicas! Say queso, ¡pero en ingles!"

"Cheeeeese!"

"Hey there, baby!" A scantily-dressed young Hispanic lady saunters up to Alex and hugs her from behind. Alex appears to be pleasantly surprised and Flaca and her clique look on, their interest mounting. The couple gazes into each other's eyes as they kiss.

"Oh, hi, Chelly-belly! This is my baby sister Katie and her squad." One by one, the girls introduce themselves politely.

"It's nice to meet you all! I'm Michelle!"

"Hey," they greet her shyly in unison.

"So, listen, I quit my job!" Michelle winks at Alex and licks her bottom lip. "They don't even care that I'm gone. They know I ain't a narc, 'cause we ain't kidnapped or nothin'...it's just an illegal occupation that makes poor girls and women money."

"Wow, that's awesome, sweetheart! I could tell you hated it from the moment we met."

"Yeah, like I formed an actual relationship with you and something clicked inside me."

"Oh yeah, baby!" They start making out and everyone gives them their privacy. It only lasts a second, though, so it's not as if Alex will be distracted for the rest of the night. "I'm really glad you're here...maybe you can help me keep tabs on these ten."

"Gotta ask...you a drug dealer or a mule?" Katie wonders aloud, ignoring Alex's glare.

"I was wondering the same thing," Flaca murmurs to Cat, who nods in agreement.

"I was a sex worker, but I left after hugging my friends goodbye. Now...I'm not sure yet, but I'm probably gonna apply for a job at Starbucks, Hot Topic, or some music store," Michelle answers. "Before you ask, I did get tested for STDs, and I don't have anything. The only thing I'm addicted to is coffee."

"Wow, I've never met a prostitute before," Elena states.

"I have, two drag queens, when I got lost in New York," Poussey informs her. "One of them, Miss Whitney Houston, gave me her phone to call my friends since someone stole mine at a teen club I went to. I ran into her and Ms. Crimson Tide on the street."

"Oh, neat! I'm just glad to be fading out of the life."

"Me, too," Alex says, drawing Michelle in close and pecking her cheek.

Katie pulls Taystee and Janae aside while giggling and beckons for the other girls to follow them. "Still, she been sluttin' and whorin' it up long before she got acquainted with Alex..."

"That's a real live ho right there!" Janae whispers loudly to Taystee, who jabs her in the side.

"They prefer the term sex worker, it sounds more polite!" Taystee scolds them through gritted teeth.

"Yeah...she could be pregnant...a lot of hookers are."

"Yo, Ceci, not cool," Flaca mutters. "You gotta listen to Taystee, she's like our mom friend...anyway, do you think Alex would stay with Michelle then, like if she had a bun in the oven?" she asks.

"Oh, she better, and raise the kid as her own, too!" Daya declares.

"Right!" Maria high-fives her.

"I hope she's telling the truth about not having any diseases for your sister's sake, Kay...most people who sell their bodies for sex contract them from one of their multiple partners," Daisy points out. "I should know...I'mma be a nurse someday. I'd test her myself, just to make sure, but I haven't even graduated high school yet. I gotta go through a lot of medical training."

"Well, she doesn't look sick...and Alex has been seein' her for a while, so it's probably okay," Katie says. "Thanks for lookin' out for her, though. Even if she grinds my gears at times, she's still my sister, I love her, and I don't want her to die."

They put their hands on their hearts. "Aww…"

"Ay dios mío, is that Ian?" Elena points and Flaca scans the crowd for him.

"Huh? ¡No lo veo!" She taps Cat to get her attention. "Yo, you're the shortest here. Get up on my shoulders and see if you spy Ian!"

I don't see him!

"Sure thing, chica."

So Flaca kneels slightly and hoists Cat up on her shoulders. Elena holds her there. "Turn slightly...there he is!" Cat shouts, her finger aimed at a figure in the crowd. "What's he doing with that bimbo?!"

It takes a second for Flaca to notice, but she gasps as she spots him with his hand on some older, white, blonde-haired girl's butt. He even plants his mouth on hers and it looks like he's trying to suck her face off.

"Oh, disgusting! Fucking scumbag cheater pendejo!" Flaca cries. Her heart shatters into tiny pieces. Kissing is not allowed in their open relationship, only sex, and she'd made that perfectly clear to him.

"Ohh, he goin' down! Get him, girls!" Cat encourages them as they help her back down to her feet.

Flaca and Elena both link arms and stomp towards him swiftly. "Hey, bitch, he's mine!" Flaca screams, pushing his side piece away.

"Slow your roll, goth freak! We've been dating for years! I never even knew about you!"

"Hell no, you did not just call me that!" Flaca snaps. "You want a sucker punch?"

"It-it's true...I have no idea what your name is!"

Elena flips her off. "Yeah, right! Ian is supposed to tell his other lovers about his main squeeze, who also happens to be one of my best friends! That's just honesty."

"Whatever, I'm gonna go get us some food. Ian, those two babies better be gone when I come back." She leaves to stand in a long line and taps her foot impatiently.

"Flaca?! What the hell are you doing here, you're underage…" Ian looks around worriedly. "Were you spying on me? Did you actually get her sister to drive you?" He glances at Elena and then his eyes travel back to Flaca.

"No, you asshole, we were looking for our friend and her mom and sister 'cause they're homeless, but it don't matter! You lied to me!" Flaca pokes his chest hard.

"Ow!"

"Shut the fuck up, pinche cabrón. You said you wouldn't have any affairs, but this puta says you've been together for at least twelve months!"

"She doesn't know what she's talking about, she's crazy…"

"Oh, am I? I was gonna celebrate our fourth anniversary with a strawberry kush, but fuck you!"

"Brittani, wait! Come back!"

"You ain't gettin' outta this one, stupid!" Elena hollers.

"You're both insane, I can't…"

Flaca grits her teeth and slaps him across the face so roughly that her hand stings, and then Elena copies her action. He holds his jaw and groans as they walk away bitterly. In her haste, Flaca almost doesn't notice a certain short Hispanic chick being rushed through throngs of people by a tall black lady with dreads. They're heading toward the entrance and strangely enough, she's struck with a calm aura.

"Mari…" She's breathing hard as her favorite girl gets further away from them. Her heart is beating rapidly in her chest. "Elena, espera, por favor…" She weaves through the crowd with Elena in tow, but Maritza has vanished from view as fast as she had appeared. The universe had only offered Flaca a glimpse of her, and Flaca suddenly thinks that maybe she's imagining things. It makes no sense for Maritza to be here, anyway.

"Ella no está aqui…"

She's not here.

"Yes, she is, I literally just saw her!"

"No, you didn't…"

"I did!" Flaca insists. "You gotta believe me! She was with this stranger...what if she was taken against her will?"

"Who are you talking about?" Alex wants to know.

"Maritza! I...she was here!"

"Really? You for serious?" Taystee asks, scrunching up her face in confusion.

"Nah, she's on some shit…" Elena mumbles, hooking her thumbs through her belt loops. Flaca hits her shoulder with the back of her hand.

"¡Sí! She was leaving the club, going out the front!"

"She never passed us," Daya says plainly.

"She must have, if I noticed her. Didn't any of you see her?" Flaca's voice rises in volume. She's desperate to know.

"Nah, bitch, you trippin'," Janae mutters.

"She couldn't have been," Poussey adds, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"We would've told you…" Cat trails off.

Maria nods. "Mm-hm, we all know how much you like her!"

Ceci messes with her hair. "Yeah, you loca."

"Ah, cállate…no, I ain't." Flaca gestures to Katie and Daisy questioningly, but they both shake their heads no. She groans in frustration and gestures wildly. "¡Dios mío, os juro que la vi! She was with some black lady who I don't know…"

Oh my god, I swear I saw her!

"Maybe you're just thinking you did because you miss her terribly," Daisy tells her.

"It's alright, we do too," Katie says kindly and rubs her back.

"Alex, por favor, tell me she was…"

"No...I'm sorry, Flaca."

Flaca huffs, defeated that nobody believes her. She's finished arguing with her friends.

"¡Baila, baila, baila!" two voices sing together at the top of their lungs. "Til you can't no more!"

Dance, dance, dance!

"Great, is that my mom and Margarita?!" Daya asks, stunned. "Shaking their tetas and asses, how embarrassing!"

The other girls at the club see them suddenly too, dancing crazily in black dresses, and they start panicking, along with Alex. "Yo, we gotta go, shit!" Elena freaks, and they start moving quickly.

"Yeah, if they see us, they'll tell our mom!" Ceci worries.

"Mm-hm, and mine, too," Flaca mutters.

"I want a bottle of Big Red in honor of Trina! Wheeee!" Margarita squeals as she and Aleida spin, appearing dizzy and drunk as their hair flies out around their made-up faces.

"Fuck yeah, motherfuckaaaaa!" Aleida screams. "Damn that pendejo Cesar to hell!"

"Okay, come on," Michelle says, ushering them out. "We don't want nobody to get in trouble."

"Sayonara, hotties!" Boo yells. She and Pennsatucky wave at the departing patrons as they pass.

"Bye!" they say quickly as they run out.

"Wow, what a rush!" Daisy comments.

"I'll say!" Cat agrees.

"Yeah!" the others chorus.

They all cheer as soon as they get back into Fahri's limo and Alex starts driving them through the city and then, to each of their separate homes.

It had certainly been an adventure.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, MsSchneeheide and Juliette45!