Sang did her very best to try to tiptoe through her hotel room, fully aware that she would be slaughtered if she woke either of the girls sleeping peacefully in the bed at the far side of the room. It was much harder to maneuver around the room when the curtains were drawn and all the lights were completely shut off with miscellaneous items strewn about the hotel room floor. Sang scowled as she nearly tripped over Mara's makeup bag that sat right next to the bathroom door, laying open with makeup spilling out of it.

Triumph briefly floated through her as she thought she had reached the door, unscathed. She'd thought wrong; an unsuspecting pillow laid right in front of the door from the previous night's pillow fight, and a combination of the dark and her single sighted mind caused her to miss seeing it. Her foot slipped on the smooth material and she crashed into the door, letting out a loud swear as she did so.

"Sang," Lissa groaned out, irritation evident in her voice. "What are you doing?" A dark object flew towards Sang's head and she ducked, letting out a relieved sigh when she heard the loud noise it made when it made contact with the door. Sang narrowed her eyes at the busted remote that had fallen on top of the pillow; it didn't surprise her one bit that in a half asleep state, Lissa had tried to throw a remote at Sang's head.

"Go back to sleep, Liss," Sang quietly called out, hoping to at least refrain from waking Mara. When Lissa muttered back an incoherent response, Sang figured she was pretty much in the clear. She patted her sweatshirt pocket to make sure she still had her key card and phone then slipped out of the hotel room as quietly as she could manage.

If she had told the others where she was going they would have definitely wanted to go with her, but she felt like being a little selfish at the moment.

The lobby was practically dead as Sang walked through it, heading towards the doors to outside. She waved to the person who stood behind the desk, feeling a good amount of sympathy for them at the fact that they had such an early shift. She slipped through the doors, revelling in the rising sun and the way the colors danced over the ocean. She was so distracted by the sunrise that she nearly forgot why she was up so early; she remembered real fast at the sound of a car door slamming shut.

She turned and faced where the noise had come from, a wide grin forming on her face. Standing before her, looking rather tired but happy as well, was Julian Barren, her oldest and best friend. Julian's tired expression dissipated completely at the sight of Sang, and in place of it, a beaming smile formed. He lent against the limo he had just exited out of, attempting to look casual.

"That's my sweatshirt." He narrowed his eyes at the grey sweater that swamped her body, falling past the shorts she was wearing with it. She narrowed her eyes in return, pulling the sleeves over her hands and reaching out to smack him with it. He caught her at the wrists and pulled her into him, ducking his head down close to her's, smirking. "Have you been behaving yourself, little Songbird?"

Sang smirked back at him. "Of course I have, Jules. I'm a perfectly well-behaved little angel."

Sang didn't bother mentioning Elliot chasing her down and spanking her on the beach; she was near certain that Lissa would mention it and then Sang would get the pleasure of seeing Julian losing his mind. Julian had always been a little protective over Sang, though no one could exactly blame him. Seeing as they had been friends since they were about two and their parents decided to play matchmaker extremely early on, they were pretty much stuck with each other. Some might have mourned the situation, but Sang and Julian had decided to make the best out of it. They became great friends and while they were both aware of the fact that in a few years they would most likely be married off to each other, it didn't change the dynamic of their friendship at all.

"You? An angel?" Julian scoffed, releasing his grip on Sang's wrist. "I'll believe it when I see it." When he turned around to open the limo door to grab something, Sang stuck her tongue out at him though she was sure he could tell she was doing so. "I have a present for you."

Sang pretended to be shocked, fluttering a hand over her heart and letting out a dramatic gasp. "A present? Well I'll be damned. What did I do to deserve such a thing? Is it a special occasion?"

Sang didn't have to see his face to know that Julian was rolling his eyes at her.

"Shut up before I take it back." He said, glancing over his shoulder at her. She raised an eyebrow at him, as if daring him to give her the present. He chuckled at her expression, but then turned around, revealing a meowing white and black kitten; a familiar one at that.

"Lilith!" Sang exclaimed, reaching out and claiming her cat from her friend. She immediately began doting on the cat, cooing to it and asking about how it's trip was, as if it could actually respond. Julian stared at her patiently, even as he heard his and Lissa's dog scratching and whining at the door of the limo; it was apparent that the leather would need to be upholstered. Once Sang had finished fawning over her cat that she had seen less than two days ago, she gave her attention back to Julian. "You brought Lil? Why?"

"You're going to be here all summer," he explained as if it was simple. And maybe to him it was simple, maybe it was the fact that he got to see her face light up like the sun and have the satisfaction of knowing that he was part of the reason for it. "I know you and I know that there's no way in hell you can stay away from your feline friend that long."

"But will the hotel allow it?" Sang asked, mostly half hearted. She'd already made up her mind that she would do whatever it took to keep her Lilith with her, even if it meant buying a house in Bali to stay in. Which, now that she considered it would be a lot more pleasurable than staying at a hotel. She made a mental note to mention it to Elliot and get his thoughts on it.

"Would they really say no to our families?" Julian reminded her, yanking open the limo door to reach in and pet his dog while he talked.

"Is Cap staying too?" Sang questioned, peeking into the limo to finger wave at the excitable dog that was lying on his back, patiently waiting for belly rubs.

Julian shook his head, frowning slightly. "Afraid not. I don't want him ruining anything here, so he's going to go stay with the Step-Bitch." Sang visibly shivered at the mention of Julian's much hated step sister. "I brought him along so Lissa could see him before he's gone for the rest of summer. He's her dog too, after all."

Many people probably would have found it peculiar that although Lissa and Julian weren't dating, and never would for that matter (Lissa commonly liked to say "been there done that" when the subject was brought up though none of them were sure what that meant), they had a dog they co-owned. To Sang, it was sweet. The moment that Lissa had met little Cappuccino, Cap for short, during the previous winter, she had fallen in love. Julian had come to adore Cap, but he adored Lissa just as much, and they came to the agreement that they would have joint custody over the dog.

"Why don't you go wake up everyone and send them down to see Cap before he goes? Then we can go out for breakfast." Julian suggested, reaching out for Sang again. Julian was much more physically affectionate than Elliot, preferring to hug her and hold her hand, rather than chase her around and spank her. Sang stepped out of reach and nodded.

Almost an hour later, and Julian and Elliot had decided to go on a walk while Lissa and Mara got ready. Finding that her hotel room had practically become a war zone full of beauty products and clothing, Sang had found refuge in the boys room with Lilith. She waited until the two boys had left for their walk to take a shower, wanting to wash off the chlorine she hadn't gotten the chance to rid herself of from the day before.

When she exited the bathroom, steam following in her wake, she glanced around the room, prepared to cuddle with her cat until her friends were ready to leave. She froze in between the two beds, her eyes scanning over the entire room and panic worming its way into her chest. Lilith was a small cat, making it easy for her to hide, but she was also relatively well behaved, taking naps on the warmest and softest surface while waiting for her owner to come hold her. Yet, Lilith was nowhere in visible sight.

As if the cat would respond, Sang began to call out, "Lilith? Sweetheart, where are you? Sweetie, come on out."

After checking every possible place that the cat might have hidden, Sang came to the heart wrenching conclusion that Lilith must have gotten out when Elliot and Julian have left. Throwing on the first things she could find (a pair of Elliot's basketball shorts and Julian's sweatshirt she had been wearing earlier), she tore out of the room, intent on finding her cat. Even though she was near tears, she tried her best to keep her composure as she started searching the hotel, calling out Lilith's name. It wouldn't look good for her family if there were headlines about her acting like a mad woman, so she would have to approach the situation calmly.

It was a pity that by the time she reached the lobby, she had dissolved into tears, at a lost as to where her cat could be. She had the worst thoughts going through her mind at the moment; thoughts such as Lilith being hurt and scared, wishing Sang was there to protect her.

At a lost as to what else to do, she trudged over to the desk, wiping at her eyes. "Excuse me," she whispered, despising how pathetic she sounded. "Have you seen a cat that's black and white? She has one black ear and one white ear and her back paws are white but her front ones are black? Or have there been any reports of a cat looking like that?"

Before the receptionist got a chance to ask, a man passing by was interjecting. "A black and white cat? How big?"

Sang turned to face him, sniffling. The man was rather cute but not in the most obvious of ways, but to her, cute was cute. He had brown hair pushed away from his face and black framed glasses. The glasses luckily didn't conceal his captivating green eyes and his sharp cheekbones. Even through his shirt, she could tell he had some muscle to him. She flushed slightly, feeling self conscious about the fact that she was wearing boys clothes, lacking shoes, and red in the face from crying.

"Small," she said vaguely then realized that wasn't much help at all and tried to demonstrate with her hands, even as her cheeks burned from embarrassment. Her hands hovered in the air awkwardly and finding this unacceptable, she tucked her hands into the pockets of the sweatshirt, gripping her phone tightly. The thought of calling Elliot and Julian drifted through her mind, but she brushed it away.

"I think my friend mentioned he saw a cat that looked like that on my floor," the man said, smiling kindly, apparently unphased by Sang's disgruntled appearance and awkward personality. "Would you like to go look? I can help too. Two sets of eyes are better than one, right?"

Sang stared at him for a long moment, trying to gather if he knew who she was but then nodded slowly, accepting his offer. "Okay. Alright. Let's go find my cat."

In the elevator as Sang was shuffling foot to foot from pent up anxious energy, the man shot her a kind smile. "I'm Kota, by the way. And you-"

"Are Sang Sorenson." Sang's smile was tight, aware that most people knew who she was. It had been like that her entire life, and still she hadn't gotten used to it, typically getting annoyed when she was confronted with the reality of it all. "Nice to meet you."

Kota blinked several times when Sang turned away, apparently finding the wall more interesting than having a conversation with him. Part of him couldn't blame her for being on edge, after all, she was the daughter of a multimillionaire and she'd probably had her fair share of psychos trying to get to her because of the family she belonged to. Not to mention, she was being hunted by several people who were intent on killing her; not that she was aware of that situation, of course.

When they arrived on Kota's floor, Sang shot off the elevator immediately searching for her cat. She was trying to hide it, but it was clear that she was frantic and panicked. Kota almost felt bad for her, but pushed aside his emotions, resting a hand on her shoulder and leading her towards his hotel room. They began to turn a corner when the sound of a small mew met Sang's ears. She let out a slight squeak, diving towards the plant she had heard it coming from. Behind it, the black and white cat sat, glaring up at the two humans peeking down at it.

Sang breathed a sigh of relief, leaning down to scoop up her cat and cuddled Lilith to her chest. She peered over at Kota, guilt weighing her down now that she realized how short she had been with him previously. She inhaled deeply then forced herself to speak. "I'm sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to be rude, I was just really worried about my cat."

Kota smiled warmly, not at all thrown off by her earlier attitude. "It's okay," he said, hesitantly reaching out to pet Lilith. When Sang didn't smack his hand away or threaten to end him, he rested his hand on Lilith's head, scratching in between the cat's ears. The small kitten instantly began to pur and Sang's eyebrows pulled together. "I have a dog I'm pretty fond of and I would have been freaking out too if he had gone missing."

"Yeah," Sang mumbled, still frowning, wondering how Kota had managed to figure out Lilith's sweet spot in a matter of moments. "Pets are really special, almost like children."

Kota nodded his head in agreement and bit his tongue to keep from smirking; he was a bit proud of himself for making her squirm already. She ignored him momentarily, balancing Lilith in one hand as she pulled out her phone and checked the time. She swore under her breath, causing Kota's eyebrows to shoot up. For a sweet looking girl, she had quite the mouth on her from what he had heard so far.

"I'm really sorry," Sang said, hastily shoving her phone back into her pocket causing Lilith to meow in protest as she was jostled in the process. "But I've got to go. It was nice meeting you. I hope I see you again sometime soon."

Forgetting her usual manners, Sang speed walked away before Kota could bid her goodbye. Kota watched her as she got onto the elevator, even more anxious from before if the way she was tapping her fingers on her thigh and muttering to herself indicated anything. He watched her until the doors slid shut and he could no longer see her alluring green eyes and soft hair, and when the doors finally shut, he turned away and pulled out his phone, typing out a text.

Kota: You're all in for a big surprise. She's not at all like we thought she was...

~~~

Sang had never been a big fan of the party scene, whether it be dinner parties, galas, charity events (those weren't that bad), or a house party. This didn't seem to matter to her best friends, because they had decided to celebrate their first night all together in paradise they wanted to go to a popular hang out they had heard about. While everyone finished getting ready, seeing as Sang was always the first to finish, she researched the place and found that now that she knew more about it, she was even less inclined to go.

Lucifer's Den was a one story building with a basement. The basement was full of pool tables, a bar, and bar fights. As for the main floor, it was how a regular dance club would be styled with a few balconies over looking it; Sang was certain you had to have money to get on one of those balconies and she was also certain she wouldn't be paying for it. She squirmed in her seat as she read over a report of a fight that had occurred at Lucifer's Den, excuses to get out of going flying through her brain.

A hand that wasn't her own grasped her phone and yanked it away, and then watching in horror, she witnessed her phone flying through the air, to the other side of the room.

"Ell!" She cried indignantly, shoving at his chest.

He gripped her hands and gave her a hard look. "Sang, I swear there's no way in hell you're getting out of this, Liss and Jules won't let it. Stop working yourself up. Just loose up and have some fun tonight. With Julian and I there, you'll be perfectly safe. "

"Just like I was at Dolan Grey's party last year?" Sang spat out, the words like venom to Elliot. He jerked away, throwing her a shocked and hurt look. They tended not to discuss Sang's trouble filled past, but some days when the anger and hurt was too much, she couldn't help but throw certain things like that into his face.

"That was different." Elliot said in a low voice, a low voice that conveyed a warning, one that Sang was not about to heed. Just because he didn't like her words, the truth, didn't mean she was going to stop speaking. 

Her smile was as frosty as her father's first wife when she informed them that she was leaving them. "Okay, sure, Ell. Let's go before the others get worried."

She gently shoved him out of the way by knocking her shoulder into his chest, then moved past him and right out the door. Elliot rubbed at his chest, as if that could soothe the pain that had formed there. There would never be a day where he didn't feel guilty for all that had happened to his best friend, and there would never be a day where he wished she didn't shut down when she was feeling true emotions. Letting out a shaky breath, he followed behind her, deciding that he would speak to her at the club.

~~~

The den looked exactly like it did in it's pictures online: filled to the brim with people, blinding strobe lights, and a crushed red velvet interior that reminded Sang of several dresses shoved in the back of her closet at home.

Sweeping her long hair over her shoulder, she grabbed Mara's hand, dragging the other girl over to the bar, prepared to drown out the emotions that were waging a war inside her. Part of her was horrified by what she had said to Elliot, but the other part of her was sick of being told how to feel and was ready to use booze to stop feeling all together. Mara shot Julian a concerned look, who merely shrugged, as if saying do what you will with her. Sang might have been the baby in the group, but once she had set her mind on something, not even Julian could stop her.

It didn't take much for the bar tender to slide a shot of tequila towards Sang. She shot him a brilliant, thankful smile, and threw her head back, prepared to down the booze, but before she could someone was gripping her wrist and the liquid spilled out over her hand and down her arm. She faced the person, gritting her teeth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Elliot?" She snapped, slamming the shot glass down. She ignored the alcohol that was making her skin feel sticky and the guilt that tormented her as she treated Elliot how she used to witness her step mothers and father treat each other. "I thought you told me not to worry, to have fun. But now you're interrupting me when that's exactly what I'm doing?"

"You're getting drunk for the wrong reasons," Elliot said, his voice level and his hands thrown up in surrender. Pain swirled in his blue pools, quietly begging Sang to hear him out. Sang scoffed and shook her head, a bitter smile forming. "You're being ridiculous, Sang. I messed up and I acknowledge that, but you need to stop, right now. Okay? Just stop. You're acting ridiculous."

"What do you want from me?" She barked, her hands balling into fists. She knew that this anger wasn't towards Elliot, but towards everyone else in her life that expected too much, towards her past demons and ghosts. She wanted to stop so badly, but she wasn't sure how. Her emotions were consuming her so fast that her only solution was to spit them out on acidic, life altering words. "I'm trying here! I really am!"

"And that's all I ask from you! But sometimes, it feels like you've given up and one of those moments is right now!" Elliot exclaimed, losing his cool momentarily. He threw hands out in exasperation and Sang flinched away. Elliot's eyes widened, noticing the tremor that had claimed Sang's body and the tears that filled her eyes. "Sang, no... I would never..."

Sang gripped the edge of the bar counter, taking shuddering breaths. "I'm sorry, Ell. I didn't mean to act that way. I'm sorry but I don't think I can talk to you right now. I need a few moments."

"Sang," Elliot's voice was soft and pleading. He reached out to grip her shoulder and she winced again, cowering away even more. "Sang! I would never hurt you!"

"Elliot!" She cried, throwing her hands up to ward him off, panic sparking in her eyes. "Please! Give five minutes to collect myself! Then we can talk! All I'm asking for is five fucking minutes."

Elliot was resistant, intent on staying by her side until she calmed down, but before he could reach out for her again a shadow fell over him. He glanced up and blinked several times, taking in the man standing beside him and Sang. He was rather intimidating, dressed in all black with a serious scowl on his face; his eyes and hair were dark, and he towered over Sang, standing taller than Elliot.

"What's going on here?" He questioned, his eyes darting between Sang's shaky appearance and Elliot's frown. "Is he bothering you?" This question was aimed towards Sang, his eyes softening when he saw that she was physically shaking.

"Everything is fine," Elliot snapped, exasperated that he couldn't talk to his best friend without someone interrupting.

"Actually," Sang said, refusing to look at either of the men, her eyes settled on something beyond Elliot's shoulders. "I could use a moment away from Elliot. I think we both need to collect our thoughts before one of us says something we regret."

"Oh, so you don't regret anything you've said so far?" Elliot couldn't but snap at her, irritated with how he had upset her and how a stranger was stepping into their business.

Sang's glare cut right through Elliot. "Stop it right now, Elliot Darling. You know just as well as I do how bad we are together when we're angry. I will talk to you later."

The man, becoming aware of how intense their argument was took a small step closer to Sang, shooting Elliot a glare. Elliot returned the glare, wishing Julian would notice what was occurring and come to diffuse the situation; Julian was no where in sight though and it was clear Elliot had lost this battle.

The dark eyed man turned and looked at Sang. "Would you like to join me downstairs? You seem overwhelmed. It's quieter down there. It'll give you time to think before you come back to talk to him."

Sang stared directly at Elliot as she said, "I would love to. I'm Sang, by the way. You are?"

"North," the man replied, gifting her with a small smile. Neither acknowledged Elliot as North rested a hand on Sang's shoulder, guiding her through the people and towards the door for the basement.

To hell, she went, exactly where she belonged; a devil by her side, escorting her. 

a/n: Okay so once again I wanna warn y'all this is a bit of a darker fit and some characters are altered a little SUCH AS SANG AND KOTA but once you get to know them all better you'll discover they're all pretty much the same. What did you think of this chapter?

Thoughts on Baby Boy Jules?

Thoughts on Lord Savior Elliot?

Thoughts on anything in general?

xoxo,

ry.