3:15.

It's time, Mia thought, checking her wristwatch for the twelfth time that minute. As if on cue, the bus pulled up, ushering Mia to board.

It was a bit of a struggle, but she was able to get on. The first thing she noticed was the unbearable smell emanating from the entire bus. There was trash littering the ground and it smelled like sweat and garbage. Mia scrunched up her nose and tried to ignore it. She looked around for a spot. Shoot! she thought, looking around the crowded bus and finding no more open chairs. There was the option to stand but that wasn't exactly available to Mia due to her crutches.

"Mia?" she heard her name just as the bus started. She almost fell but a hand grabbed her arms, keeping her steady. She looked up and saw Charlie standing there with a big, stupid, grin on his adorable face. Okay, what the heck is going on in my mind right now? Mia wondered to herself, feeling like she was going insane as she looked at his defined jaw.

"Thanks, Charlie." He motioned for her to sit down in his now empty seat. Gratefully, she did so, feeling herself relax almost immediately. Charlie stood in front of her, a curious glance looking her over.

"So..." he started, "what is an immobile girl like you doing inside of a smelly bus?" he asked, almost jokingly but Mia caught an edge of seriousness.

Mia bit the inside of her lip, starting to panic. "Ughhhh," she muttered, searching for an excuse. Any excuse! "I'm going to the z-zoo?" she stuttered nervously, her statement coming out as more of a question.

"Really, Mia?" Charlie asked, a smirk on his lips. "You're going to the zoo? That's the best you can come up with? Come on, just tell me. I already know about the other stuff," he begged. Mia noticed gratefully that he was careful not to say anything about her powers.

"This is different. Not even Blake knows where I'm going," she explained shrinking back in her chair..

"I'm not Blake," he reminded her, looking at her with his thick eyebrows raised. "I'm Charlie."

"Well, I know that. It's just... you wouldn't understand," she mumbled.

"Try me," he shot back. "See if I'd understand because I bet you that I would understand a lot more than you think."

"I'm going to see my mom," she finally whispered as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Why is that such a big deal?" he asked curiously, clearly having heard her even though she had third to make it as unintelligible as possible.

"My mom... well, she left a few years ago. Blake knows the story and I think he'd judge me," she admitted.

"Why would he judge you?" Charlie asked, looking confused. "I mean, you're just going to see your mom. Is she that terrible?"

"Well..." Mia replied, not completely knowing how to respond. "She's just... when she left, she said some things but it's really my fault. She wouldn't have said them if I hadn't..." she told him, unable to finish her sentence.

"Got it." How he was able to remain so calm, Mia had zero idea.

Not having anything else to talk about with that topic, Mia decided to change the subject. "So... where are you headed?" she asked.

"I'm just on my way to the library next to that starbucks," he told her.

"Oooh," she began, "you're going to the library. Does that mean that you actually read?" she asked, hoping she would make him laugh or something.

Thankfully, he did. "Yes, Mia. I do read."

Ignoring his witty comeback, Mia wrapped her denim jacket further around her. She had been so used to being hot, she forgot what it was like to be cold but in the bus, the air seemed to have come straight from antarctica.

Soon, she felt another jacket around her and looked up to see Charlie had taken his off. "Sorry," she apologized weakly. "It's really cold in here," she complained, looking straight into his eyes.

"It's fine. I never get cold."

Subconsciously, Mia looked around the cramped bus. She almost cringed at the amount of people staring at her. She knew that it was because of her face. Although she had been able to get her crutches, her face was still badly burned and cut, leaving quite a few scars. She had tried to cover it up with makeup but she seemed to have failed.

"Don't look at them. They're just idiots," he comforted.

"You're right. So, we were talking about books! What is your favorite book?"

"Well, if I'm going by my favorite book that makes me look sophisticated, then it's The Scarlet Pimpernel. However, if we're going by normal books, probably Mockingjay," he told her.

Mia nodded her head approvingly. "Both great books. Personally, I'm more of a Catching Fire kind of girl but you do you, boo." She immediately regretted her words when Charlie shot her a look of amusement and confusion.

"What did you just say?" he asked with a small smirk. Mia blushed in embarrassment and focused on her lap.

"Nothing," she whispered.

"No," he persisted, looking down at her and trying to catch her eye. "What did you say?"

"You're going to make fun of me," she protested, wrapping the jacket around herself even more.

"I doubt that," he defended.

She took a deep breath before mumbling an answer. "I said 'you do you, boo'."

Liar, she thought as laughs erupted from his lips. "I told you that you'd make fun of me."

Calming down, he responded. "But here's the thing, I'm not making fun of you, I'm just laughing at you."

"That's not any better," Mia grumbled, annoyed.

Charlie was about to respond when the bus came to a screeching halt. Mia almost fell out of her chair but was able to stay steady by holding on to a metal rod.

"37th street!" the driver called through the megaphone. Charlie helped Mia to her feet and she started walking to the door. Charlie was behind her and it just occurred to occur to her. Rather, she saw it.

Either way, Charlie would be close by if she needed it. Hopefully, she wouldn't need it but you never know.

Charlie helped her down the stairs before saying goodbye, taking back his jacket, and heading to the library.

Mia took a deep breath, closing her eyes against the oncoming surge of panic threatening to take over her entire body. Slowly, she opened her eyes and took a step forward, relying heavily on her crutches.

Opening the door to the cafe was terrifying but seeing her mother... she'd never been so scared. Mia could feel her breath quicken and her heart pounded against her chest. Her breathing had become rigid and she was finding it hard to get air into her lungs.

Ragged breathing. Heart pounding. Head throbbing.

Soon, she felt like she was going to faint. She ran to the bathroom quickly, thankful that it was a single stall bathroom. It didn't smell all that great but as she slumped against the door, shaking hard and barely breathing, she couldn't find it in her to care.

Ragged breathing. Heart pounding. Head throbbing.

Mia felt the door opening against her back. Having no strength to do anything else, Mia moved aside, still shaking. She felt strong, calloused hands wrap around her and could do nothing to stop them as they picked her up roughly, opening the door and running down an unfamiliar hallway.

Ragged breathing. Heart pounding. Head throbbing.

She didn't know how she got there but soon she was in the back of a van. The door was still open, though, and Mia saw a fight break out.

Ragged breathing. Heart pounding. Head throbbing.

Suddenly, Mia heard sirens and someone moving her. Everything was a haze, though. She was still shaking and she could feel the loss of breath start to catch up to her.

Struggling for breath. Heart pounding against her ribcage. Head pulsating.

It felt like a bowling ball had been thrown on her chest. She could feel herself start to slip away but the fear of nightmares and memories forced her to struggle.

Barely breathing. Heart pounding hard. Head throbbing painfully.

Fear ran up her spine as the bright hospital fluorescents beamed down on her, almost blinding.

Gasping for air. Bowling ball dropped against her chest. Needles poking her mind.

Out of the corner of her blurry vision, she saw people staring at her but she couldn't focus on that because soon, her breathing had stopped entirely.

No breath. Heart barely beating. Mind blank. Darkness.

Mia woke up in a white bed. She must have been in the hospital but where was Blake? He'd been there every single time she'd woken up after a serious injury. She looked around the room but there was no sign of anyone.

Looking around, she realized that something seemed familiar. Mia's mouth remained closed somehow as she gasped, suddenly realizing the reason for the familiarity. The room was in almost the exact same format as the room from her memory.

She tried to stand up but her body wouldn't let her. It was almost like it wasn't her body, but rather, she was inside someone else's.

The door burst open and a teary-eyed Clarissa walked into the room. Confused, Mia looked around again, searching for a reason her mother might be crying. Mia suspected that she was in the bed because she was hurt but her mother had never cried for reasons like that.

Ahhh, Mia thought. Dad's here. That was all the explanation she needed. Dear ol' mom was faking it as she had always done, to pretend she cared. Wait, what? Mia thought, realizing that only a few days ago, Mia had thought her mom had actually been kind to her.

"How are you, sweetie." Mia had wanted to respond with something like, "well, I was great but then you walked in." It wasn't like her but the anger she was feeling for her at that moment overpowered her other feelings.

Instead, she ended up saying, "I'm fine. Thanks, mama." Mia cringed at the name she called her mom. She hadn't called her that since she was at least nine. How old was she?

"Honey, now that you can see that she's okay, why don't you head back to work. I'm sure that you being here was enough and don't you have that important meeting today?" she urged.

Her father, being the non persistent person he was, responded with an affirmative answer, kissing her mo- Clarissa- on the cheek before moving to Mia and doing the same. "I love you," he whispered in Mia's ear, turning to leave.

She felt herself mutter a similar response and turn to her mother. "What happened back there?" she asked, her voice yet again high-pitched and childlike.

"It's nothing, sweetie. Just some tests didn't go as pla-"

Suddenly, the door burst open, cutting off Clarissa's sentence. "I'm so sorry for interrupting. I just wanted to let you know that we have gained success on the g-"

"Thank you!" Clarissa interrupted, cutting her off. "Why don't you go and get some hot chocolate for my daughter," she suggested, pointing at Mia.

"Right, I'm so sorry. I'll just go now."

"What was that about, mama?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing important," Clarissa told her. Clarissa's dismissive tone didn't throw off Mia. She knew something was going on. "Why don't you go to bed, sweetie?" she suggested.

"I don't want to," Mia whined.

"We'll have to fix that, now won't we?" Mia watched as her mother pulled out another long needle, filling it with a clear substance.

"Mama, please don't," Mia begged as she felt her eyes well up with tears at the memory of pain the last time she had come in contact with a big needle.

"It's okay, sweetums. This shouldn't hurt." But the pinch of the needle paired with the fear going through Mia's brain was painful enough in itself but soon it, like everything else, had disappeared, replaced with an empty black.

A/N Okay, I'm kind of freaking out. How is it that I got one hundred reads while I was sleeping!? I mean, last night I went to bed with like eight hundred and forty five reads or something and now I have NINE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE READS!!!!!!!!! I MEAN, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. I SERIOUSLY CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I'M ACTUALLY CRYING OF JOY RIGHT NOW AND I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN A THOUSAND YET. THIS IS SO CRAZY. OKAY, BYE