Note: Fixed for formatting now.

Welcome to my third fanfiction story. It's been a while since I published something, especially with delays and writer's block hindering my other stories. To help the creative process along though, I wrote up this intro to what I hope will be another fun adventure.

Just to note. This takes place after the events of The Wolf Among Us Season 1 and while there's a certain cliffhanger that needs to be addressed, I nixed for the sake of the story. Why? Because fanfiction, that's why.

Also, there will be a romantic element between my OC and Nerissa, but it is not just a romance story. The main focus is the plot that will manifest itself along the way. Just trust me on this. There are some fun things in store here!

With that said, thanks for checking this out and I hope you enjoy following Clay Turner through what will certainly be a strange journey for him. And now I present to you...The Heart Made of Clay.

Once upon a time, in the fictional land of New York City….

Soft, white snow crunched under Clay Turner's shoes as he ran through the streets. Winter had come in full strength to New York and it wasn't letting up soon. White clumps pelted his face, dripping water down his cheeks. His beanie was completely soaked and his neck was freezing. That wouldn't stop him from keeping a promise though, even if he was already fifteen minutes late.

He rounded the corner of 5th Avenue and stopped just in time to not be hit by a cab. At least that proved he wasn't as clumsy as people assumed, especially since that cab driver wouldn't have stopped.

With one last sprint down the sidewalk, he arrived at his destination: St. Patrick's Cathedral. It had been while since he went to a church, but it was a pretty one. The rough, stony exterior complemented the ornate glass windows and decorations that made it unmistakably a Catholic Church. It was like a chunk of history crammed into the middle of an increasingly industrial city. Thank God he made it here too, because he almost went to the St. Paul Church by mistake.

He walked up the steps slowly to catch his breath, only to notice that the doors were closed. Crap! He hoped he wasn't too late. He rested his hands on his knees and listened to the music being played while his heart stopped racing. He couldn't distinguish any one voice from the entire chorus, which meant there hadn't been a solo yet.

He looked over to see a big "A City Singing At Christmas" sign draped on one of the walls. It was a cute thing designed with a festive font and color scheme to emphasize everything that was Christmas...for a Catholic. It was going to be a long night, but he had promised to stay for the entire thing. Maybe the music would lull him to sleep if he really needed it.

With his heart rate returning to normal, he walked to the door and slowly entered. It made a light creak, but no one seemed to notice. At least that was better than the time he went with his friend Mike to a concert at a local bar. He nearly died of embarrassment after that squeaky door threw off the entire event. It was kind of funny in retrospect though.

He shielded his eyes to adjust to the influx of light that colored everything inside with a bright golden yellow. It was more full than he expected. Mostly families and assorted older people, but at least it wasn't an unfriendly looking crowd. He walked down the aisle to see if there was an open seat in the pews.

As he did so, he scanned the chorus in the front area. He knew it would be hard to pinpoint one person amidst a sea of identically colored robes, but he had to make sure she was there. After a few seconds, he spotted her curly golden locks in the middle of the crowd. The way the light shone on her hair, combined with her beaming smile and blue eyes, really made her look pretty. She also wore those earrings he always thought complemented her eyes. Her booming, melodic voice blended nicely with the chorus as they sang, 'O Come O Come Emmanuel.' It made him hope he hadn't missed her solo.

At that moment, she spotted him and snuck a quick wave before looking back at the conductor. He was too slow to wave back at her, so he figured he should sit down and not bother her.

His eyes then fell upon an open aisle seat to his right. The only person next to it was a woman with a strange flower pinned in her hair. It was the most convenient spot he could find, so he hoped she didn't mind.

"Pst," he whispered to the woman. She turned to him surprised, which made him feel guilty for distracting her. "Sorry, uh, are you saving this for anyone?"

She shook her head and motioned for him to sit.

"Thank you," he whispered again as he took off his coat and beanie before sitting. He sighed and closed his eyes as the warmth of the cathedral and the sounds of music embraced him. He had to get used to it, since he had another hour or two to go. Not like he had anything better to do tonight.

He opened his eyes and noticed the woman with the flower looking at him, amused by his relaxation.

"Sorry," he whispered with a chuckle sitting upright. "I ran a long way to get here."

"You could have taken a cab," she replied.

"Eh. Running saves money and keeps the cardio up. Probably would have been late either way.

"Guess so," she said before looking back to the choir.

Clay stole an extra glance to admire how beautiful this woman was. Her nicely combed red hair, thin dark eyebrows, full lips and rounded cheeks gave off a cute but natural vibe. She also wore a white low cut outfit that was appealing but not gross. And those eyes…he could lose himself staring at those pools of brown.

He nervously looked back to the choir before she could spot him. He wasn't here to meet people, but he felt like he should talk to her. He didn't know how willing she would be to talk after the concert though. Most likely, they'd awkwardly say hi and she would go home. Just his luck.

"It's really nice, isn't it," the woman then unexpectedly whispered to him.

"Hm?" He said a little too loud before quieting himself.

"The music. It's really sweet. Do you know the song?"

He listened carefully to check. The echo in the cathedral made the words hard to point out, but he recognized the tune.

"I think they're on the, um, 'The Huron Carol," he whispered. He was impressed he remembered that title. Then he remembered that it was because his friend had only sung it fifty billion times back at their apartment.

"What's a Huron?" The woman asked.

"Beats me. Must be some kind of carol."

The woman chuckled. "Very deductive," she teased looking back to the choir. "I don't listen to a lot of Christmas music, so it's all new to me."

"Did your family not celebrate the holidays?"

"No. We just had…different traditions."

"Cool," he whispered back. He was still nervous, but he kept a level head. "So…what brought you here?"

"The church," she whispered back.

"Yeah. What brought you to the church?"

"The church did," she clarified. "I didn't know there was a concert happening. I just…felt like going to a church tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm not very religious, but I had a rough day and I needed to clear my head. So I took a stroll for a couple of hours and…well, I ended up here. I figured, 'What the hell?' You know?"

"Oh…Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"It's ok," she reassured him. "What brought you here?"

"Her," he said pointing to his friend in the choir.

As if on cue, his friend began singing her solo. He always knew her voice was nice, but this time it was just angelic. The words to 'O Holy Night' carried across the room, filling the audience with cheer and reverence.

"Wow," the woman next to him said. "She's really good."

"Yeah," he said equally surprised.

"Is she your girlfriend?"

"Cheryl? Oh, no, no, no, no. She's dating my friend Taylor."

"Oh. Where's he?"

"He, uh, he had to work tonight," he quickly thought to say. "Graveyard shift and all. He asked me to 'fill his spot' so somebody would come."

"Couldn't he have asked for time off?"

"…yeah. He probably could have."

She scoffed at that. "Some boyfriend he is."

Clay kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to speak out on something personal that he wasn't a part of.

"Hope he didn't ruin any plans you had," she whispered as the choir joined Cheryl in the song.

"Not really."

"Well, then you're a better man than he is."

The two of them sat in silence for another minute as the song finished and the conductor turned his hymnbook to the next page.

"I'm Nerissa, by the way," the woman whispered to Clay.

"Hm?"

"Nerissa. I never introduced myself."

"Oh, uh, hi. I'm Clay."

"Nice to meet you, Clay."

He smiled hearing that. It suddenly felt a lot warmer and not from any of the candles. If he had to be grateful for anything tonight, he at least had some nice company for the next hour…

"So, how'd it go?"

Clay snapped out of his daydream to see Mike walking on his left side. He had been thinking about her again. The vision of that red hair wrapped around that flower burned in the back of his skull like a heavenly dream. It was almost like she walking beside him on the snowy sidewalk to go for a lunch break with his friends. She wasn't though, otherwise she'd see him dressed in his silly uniform from The Cutting Room pizzeria.

"Huh?" Clay replied to Mike.

"The concert. Was Cheryl 'a stupendous sensation' like she claims?"

"Oh, yeah, she was great."

"Damn right she was," his friend Taylor then chimed in from his right side. "She's only been practicing for…what? Five months. A few more and she'll get a record deal."

"Right," Mike joked. "And you'll be her money grubbing, under the table dealing husband slash manager, of course."

They all chuckled as they continued walking. These were the moments Clay treasured in life. Mike Walsh and Taylor Granger had been his best friends for as long as he could remember. It all started when he was hired at the pizzeria. He didn't remember a lot before then, which was something he never figured out. He did, however, remember talking with Mike and Taylor when they were assigned to be his mentors. One thing led to another, they became friends, they found out he had nowhere to live and now they had been roommates for the last seven years. The fact they were still working at the pizzeria didn't speak much for their prospects in life, but at least they had each other.

"So a lot of people heard her then?" Taylor asked.

"Hell yeah," Clay reassured. "I mean, it was mostly old people, but they all thought she was great."

"You saying old people can't appreciate good music?"

"You should know," Mike teased. "How much older than us are you?"

"Two years," Taylor answered. "But that just means I'm not a young idiot anymore."

"Whatever you say, grandpa," Clay joked, prompting laughs from Mike. Taylor hid a mock scowl as they continued walking.

The group rounded a corner and Mike decided to put on the showmanship.

"And now," he said to the other two with his 'theatrical British' voice. "The finest dining this side of New York outside of our restaurant. The master vendor of all things wieners: Marcos Dias's Hot Dogs!"

Clay and Taylor rolled their eyes as they walked past him.

"What?" Mike jokingly scoffed. "Just trying to make lunch fun for once."

Mike pushed past the two of them to speak with Marcos behind the vendor's counter. They had been coming for lunch here for the last two years when they weren't in the mood to cook or treat themselves to the pizzeria's wares. They all hit their pizza quota when they started working though, so that wasn't saying much.

"Marcos, como estas?" Mike said to Marcos.

"Senor Miguel, mi amigo," Marcos replied as he finished helping the customer in front of them. "Busy day at the work?"

"It's murder. What is it about the holidays that makes people want pizza so badly?"

"No mi digas, senor Mike. No one buy hot dogs no more because of you."

"My bad, Marcos. Maybe we should combine forces and make a…uh, 'pizza dog.' We'll make millions together."

"Ha! You funny, senor Miguel. You want usual?"

"Extra bacon this time," Mike said as he looked to Taylor. "And what does the wiener want on his wiener?"

"Hardy har har," Taylor mocked. "Polish dog, extra mustard please."

As Marcos got their orders ready, Taylor walked Clay a few steps away from the vendor for a chat.

"Hey," Taylor whispered. "You know I meant it when I said thanks, right?"

"Yeah, yeah of course," Clay replied.

"I mean it," Taylor said with a sigh. "I'm not proud of skipping. I tried calling it off with Alice last night, but…"

Clay crossed his arms hearing Alice's name. "You really need to tell Cheryl."

"I know, I know. I just need the right time."

"You've been saying that for the last two months."

"It's not that easy. Not like you've ever had an actual girlfriend before."

Clay looked down to the ground angrily. Sure, he hadn't been on a date for a while…well, before last night at least. He still knew better than to juggle two women at once.

"I'm sorry," Taylor apologized. "That wasn't nice. I didn't mean it."

"I know," Clay said looking back up. "You still need to tell Cheryl."

"Alright. Just after Christmas, ok?"

"After?"

"I don't want to drop a bomb like that during the holidays. I just want to forget about it for a while, then I'll tell her everything."

Clay knew this wasn't a good idea, but it was Taylor's relationship so he could do what he wished with it.

"Cheryl was really happy you came," Taylor said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," he said and chuckled. "I swear she has a crush on you though."

"Huh?"

"The way she gossiped about that woman you talked to all night."

"Who now?" Mike said joining in on the conversation and handing Taylor his order.

"Didn't you hear?" Taylor teased putting a hand on Clay's shoulder. "Clay sweet talked a lovely red head at the concert."

"Oh ho? Tell me more."

"Food first," Clay said walking past them to Marcos. It's not that he 'didn't' want to talk about it, but he'd prefer talking on a full stomach.

"Senor Clay," Marcos said cheerfully. "How many dogs today?"

"I dunno, five…no, seven," Clay said feeling his stomach.

Mike whistled with amusement behind him. "Hopefully your mystery woman knows what a glutton you are."

Clay couldn't argue with that. Ever since he could remember, he had an appetite to rival all appetites. It's partly how he won Mike and Taylor's friendship early on, when he devoured a whole pizza in under a minute. He never gained weight though. Maybe it was just a healthy metabolism, but at most he had a little fat around his stomach. Hell, he usually felt a lot healthier after a good meal. At least he learned to keep his eating under control when in public.

"So give us the details," Taylor said. "How'd you meet? What'd she say? What'd you do?"

"Geez, when did you guys become a bunch of chicks?" Clay joked.

"You don't have to be a chick to want to know that stuff," Mike joked. "And it isn't everyday our little Clay spreads his wings and does his mating call."

"Oh geez," Clay muttered to himself embarrassed.

"Well, what's the story?"

Clay sighed as he recalled last night. "I got there late and found the first open seat I could. Turns out it was next to her. She asked me about a song that was playing and we just kept talking from there."

"What's her name?" Taylor asked in mid bite.

"Nerissa."

"Nerissa?" Mike said concerned. "Is she foreign?"

"Nope. She as local as you and me," Clay said before paying for the hot dogs Marcos laid out. "Thanks Marcos. You're still the best."

"Si, amigo," Marcos said happily. "See you tomorrow."

The three of them walked and ate as Taylor continued. "So you just talked to her for two hours?"

"No," Clay said, "I mean, yeah we did talk the whole concert, but we didn't JUST do that. We went out for coffee after."

"Where did all this courage come from?" Mike said between chewing. "Isn't this the same guy who'd rather stay at home on a Friday night?"

"It felt right," Clay said powering down a hot dog. "We enjoyed all the talking and wanted to keep it going, so we did."

"How far did you get?"

"Well…" Clay said pulling out a napkin with numbers from his pocket. "She gave me her number."

"Oh, did she?" Mike said snatching the napkin out of his hand.

"Hey!"

"Easy, easy! I won't tear it," Mike said reading it. "Hm…I don't recognize the area code. Seen this before?" He handed it to Taylor, who gave a quick glance over.

"Nope," Taylor said.

"Think it's a fake?"

"Why would it be fake?" Clay asked.

"I've been given fakes before," Taylor replied giving back the napkin. "Did she specifically say 'call me' when she gave it?"

"Yeah."

"How so? " Mike asked. "Because there's a difference between 'call me' like you mean it and 'call me' like you really hope they don't call."

"I believe her words were 'call me tomorrow' when she gave it."

"Ok, that's a good sign," Taylor said impressed as he walked ahead of them. "So are you going to?"

"I already did," Clay said moving onto another hot dog.

"Say what? When?"

"While you guys were busing the tables. We're doing dinner and a Central Park walk on Tuesday."

Mike whistled amused. "I guess if you keep your eyes open, you'll find something good."

"Yeah, like this," Taylor said.

Two snowballs pelted Clay and Mike in the face with a powdery explosion. They looked up to see Taylor grinning goofily making more.

"Oh you're dead now," Mike said as he went to make his own snowball to retaliate.

Clay still had another two dogs to finish, but he figured it was ok to sit this one out. It wasn't often he got lunch and a show before going back to work…

"Give me a rain storm any day," Nerissa said with a shiver as she and Clay exited the movie theater. They had gone on this date because they thought the weather would lighten up. And it had…but it was still windier and colder than what they were dressed for.

"Here," Clay said taking off his coat and draping it over hers.

"Oh, you don't have to.

"I insist. Maybe you didn't know this, but my superpower is being impervious to cold."

"My hero," she chuckled as she walked beside him and held his hand. "Thanks."

"My pleasure," he replied with a big smile. This was their fourth date together and things were going well. It turns out that datingwas easier than he expected. As long as he was nice, listened to what she said and respected her boundaries, he was in the clear. He wasn't in a hurry to pressure her into anything, as much as Mike suggested otherwise.

"So, how did you like the movie?" Nerissa asked.

"It was good," he replied. "Not the best Christmas movie ever, It had some good parts."

"Yeah. I liked the way it ended. It was cheesy, but at least they got to spend Christmas together."

An awkward pause followed as Clay read into what she meant. Nerissa always seemed to have something on her mind with that face saddled somewhere between sad and cute. They hadn't talked much about family yet, so maybe he should just test to see what she felt.

"You get to see your family much?" He asked.

"Not anymore," she replied.

"Anymore?"

"They...live too far to visit," she said. "And I don't have the money to travel whenever I want."

"Do you call them?"

"They didn't leave a number for their new home…so no."

"I'm sorry," he said looking down.

"It's ok. It's been a while since that happened. What about your family?"

"Um…" he stammered trying to think of a good way to phrase his point. "Would you believe me if I said I don't know if I have one?"

She looked to him curiously. "How so?"

"I just…don't remember having one. I was on my own for a long time when I was younger. It wasn't until I met Mike and Taylor that I had anything close to a family."

"Did you ever try looking for them?"

"I looked for Turner in the local hospitals, but there's a hundred different Turners just in this area alone and at least five Clay Turners who were born probably around my same time. I checked them all and none of them knew me."

The two of them were quiet for a moment as they took all of that in.

"So we're both a couple of lonely souls then?" She said somberly.

"I guess so…but at least we can be lonely together," he replied trying to cheer her up. That made her smile, so it worked. He thought it would sound stupid to say out loud.

As they continued walking through a silent, light snowfall, a group of twenty-somethings came their way on the sidewalk. Their speech was loud and slurred, which meant they should stay out of each other's way. The two of them moved to the side to let them pass.

"I don't think I've ever walked you home before," Clay said to change the subject.

"It's not too far, if that's what you're asking," Nerissa joked.

"Oh, please. I can handle any—"

"Hey hey!" The two of them turned to see one of the guys from the drunken group pointing at Nerissa. "Lookie who it is."

The group whistled, whooped, and catcalled to her, which made the two of them uncomfortable.

"Isn't that one of Georgie's girls?"

"Hell yeah, that is," one of the other guys said. "I never seen you with this many clothes, bitch."

"You going to show him your private moves, sugar tits?" Another guy said.

Clay had heard enough. He wrapped an arm around Nerissa and continued walking away from the group. Unfortunately, they weren't finished harassing them.

"Hey where you going, boy?" One of the guys said. "We're just checking your merchandise before you drill her brains out."

"Yeah man," another guy said. "The jewel of the Puddin' and Pie herself."

"Don't soil Georgie's memory with that delicate piece of ass."

"Yeah. She's a prized whore!"

Clay moved Nerissa away from the group's direction as he turned around and got into one of the guys faces.

"Get the hell away from us!" Clay shouted.

"Hey hey!" One of the guys slurred. "We're just a bunch of happy admirers. You go and have her ride your pole. We won't keep ya."

"Yeah. Enjoy your Christmas present," another guy said as they stumbled away.

Clay fumed to himself and exhaled. He just needed to keep walking and chill out. He can't let some drunken dickheads ruin his night.

"God," he said turning to Nerissa. "Can you believe those ass—"

He then noticed Nerissa looking down to the ground guiltily for some reason. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, not looking Clay in the face.

"You ok?" He asked concerned.

After a short pause, Nerissa sighed. "Please don't hate me."

"Hate you?" He said confused. "Because of them? They probably harassed a whole bunch of people tonight."

That didn't lighten her mood at all. She looked away, rubbing her hands on her shoulders.

"…what's a Puddin' and Pie?" Clay decided to ask out of curiosity. "Some kind of bakery?"

"No," she sighed. "It's a strip club."

He probably should have figured that out from their comments, to be fair. It was still a shocking surprise.

"Well," he said trying to segue. "That doesn't mean that—"

"I used to work there," she confessed.

The two of them paused as he let that sink in. So they weren't just teasing? He let his hands hang at his sides before rubbing the back of his neck nervously trying to think of a reply.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I should have told you before. I just didn't know how to say it."

Clay tried to think of something good to say, but all he had was the stupid questions. "A…a strip club?"

"Yes."

"Like, you danced naked in front of-"

"Yeah."

This wasn't going well and he couldn't stop himself. "And you did…did it with-"

"Yeah."

"A lot?"

"...enough."

He put his hands back in his pockets. Great…now he made things super awkward. He tried to think of something to recover. "But you don't work there anymore, right?"

She shook her head. "I left before we met…a while before. It wasn't something I wanted to do, but I was in a lot of debt. I just didn't know they would ask that much from me. As soon as I found a way out though, I took it."

Clay listened intently as he thought this over. So she was a stripper and a hooker. He didn't think of her like that before he knew though and he never suspected as much. Did that really change who he was dealing with right now?

"Please Clay," she said looking back at him. "I never wanted to hurt or use you. You've been one of the few genuinely nice guys in my life and I really enjoy being with you. I'm not proud of what I did, but if you didn't want to talk to me again…"

After a few more seconds, Clay put his hand on her shoulder. She hesitated at first before calming down. He took a deep breath before saying what he was thinking.

"Nerissa," he said getting off to a clumsy start. "I…I really enjoy being with you too. All of…this is a lot to take in, but if you say you don't do that anymore…" He saw her look into his eyes curious to hear what he would say. "Then that's fine with me."

Nerissa didn't say a word as she wiped her eyes, her mascara rubbing on her fingers in the process.

"Maybe I'm just stupid," he continued. "But I never suspected that about you. You've always just been a really great person and…and, well, that hasn't changed."

Nerissa faintly smiled at him. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said smiling back. All of this still shocked him, but he meant what he said.

She turned to fully face him and gave him the tightest hug he had ever been given.

"Thank you," she said resting her head at his chest. The way she said it was more than just a 'thank you,' but that's all she needed to say.

He returned the embrace with a snug hug around her. "My pleasure," he said softly. The snow didn't bother them at all at that moment, because they were plenty capable of keeping each other warm. He couldn't ask for more than that...

"So you didn't go all the way with her?" Mike asked from the living room as Clay entered their apartment.

It was late and the whole apartment was shrouded in shadow save for the lamp next to Mike and the couch. It made him look like a parent waiting for his kid to come home, especially with that book he was reading. Other than that, the apartment was very much a young man's place. It had a kitchen with scattered dirty dishes, two bedrooms with clothes draped on the beds, a living room with old VHS tapes stacked in a corner, an extra room full of...stuff and other odd things twenty-somethings kept. It was home sweet home.

"Say what?" Clay asked.

"You're home late, but not late enough to assume you stayed at her place. So either you went all the way and left like a jerk or, most likely, you didn't."

"Haven't you heard of not 'kissing and telling?'" Clay said as he went to the kitchen and pulled out a loaf of bread. He was hungry but not enough to make a huge meal. He figured a triple-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich would do.

"That only furthers my assumptions," Mike said with a smirk.

"Geez, are you my mom now?" Clay said rolling his eyes. "And what's your excuse staying up so late? All the tv channels are off."

"I've found it hard to sleep in an empty apartment."

Clay sat down with his sandwich in the living room as he realized what Mike meant. "Whose house is he at tonight?" He asked.

"Hell if I know," Mike sighed as he lowered his book. "He left without saying a word. I just figured, 'Well, I don't have work tomorrow, so I might as well wait for one of my boys to get back.'"

"You really are my mom," Clay teased as he took a bite into his sandwich.

"Well, mother does know best. So seriously, how are you and Nerissa doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know. Are you guys all…" Mike then made air quotation marks. "Steady?"

"Define 'steady.'"

"You slept with her yet?"

"No."

"Have you been inside her house?"

"Nope."

"You kissed her yet?"

"Well…"

"Full on make-out?"

"No, but she pecked me on the cheek before she went to her apartment."

"Hm. That's ok for a fourth date…if you're a Mormon."

"Since when did you become the dating guru?"

"I'm just saying. You want something badly, you got to make a move."

"So why don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Life's short, but not that short. I haven't found my princess yet. Being single for a little longer won't kill me."

"Profound words," Clay said finishing off his sandwich. "Ok love guru, how should I go about 'making my move'?"

"Here's a start," Mike said chucking a crumpled paper at Clay.

"Hey!"

"Read it, 'fraidy cat."

Clay picked up the paper and opened it up. "What's this?"

"Cheryl found that flier on the street and thought it could be a fun group date. It's some social event with dancing, food, Christmas cheer, yada yada yada."

Clay noticed the address on the bottom of the flier. "Hm…this isn't too far from Nerissa's place."

"There you go. You bring your girl, I find a delicate flower to tag along, Cheryl drags Taylor off his ass, we go, we dance, we party, you guys kiss, you go back to her place and have a Merry Christmas. Happily ever after…achieved!"

"You're really obsessed with this fairy tale stuff."

"A little fantasy makes for a fuller life."

"You should write children's books."

"It's classic date movie material. Plus, you can 'bring her home to the family' this way. If this girl is truly as great as you say, Taylor and I need to approve."

"Thanks again, mom," Clay mocked.

"You'll thank me later. So what do you say? You up for it?"

"Where's the party at?" Nerissa asked Clay.

Dusk fell upon the city as they sat at Iron John's coffee shop. Clay had hoped the caffeine would lessen his anxiety to ask her to the dance, but it only made things worse. It's not like they were kids going to prom. He just didn't know how 'meeting the family' would turn out for them.

"Some place called 'The Ant and Grasshopper. You heard about it?"

"I've been there a few times. How did Cheryl hear about it?"

"She found a flier. Why? Is it not a good club?"

"No, but I'm just surprised. It's not very well known outside our community."

"Guess they decided to expand. So you want to go?"

Nerissa sipped her coffee as he saw her mull it over. "I don't know. What if the other people there don't like you?"

"Well, they're not going on a date with me," he said feeling grateful that he wasn't the only one concerned. "And I'm just as worried what Mike and Taylor will think of you."

"I promised I wouldn't call him out on his shit."

"Yeah, about that. He's really not as bad a guy as I'm making him sound. He's just…confused."

"Confused people don't juggle girlfriends for this long. How many times has he had you stand in for him?"

"Twice...I don't know, three times?" Clay sighed. "Look, he's my friend. And I don't have a lot of them."

"I don't either," Nerissa said. "I just don't want him to take advantage of you."

"Yeah…" Clay said as his eyes wandered. He had been to some shady looking coffee shops before, but never in a place like this. It was a poorer area of the city and everyone around them reflected it. If it wasn't the way they were dressed, it was the way they kept to themselves and, in some cases, obscured themselves to not be seen. How a beautiful, normal looking woman like Nerissa lived in a place like this was beyond him. Then again, he wasn't exactly a Prince Charming either.

One person in particular was bothering him the most. At a table nearby, somebody sat alone just looking at their direction. He wouldn't have thought it odd except that they were completely bundled up in a black trench coat, a red scarf, a large black fedora and a pair of red sunglasses. It wasn't exactly inconspicuous. Something was off about this lady or at least he felt some weird vibe coming off of her. It almost felt like a literal thing, but he knew that wasn't true. Before he could think more on it though, the person left in a hurry. The negative vibes seemed to leave with her too. Strange...

"Something wrong?" Nerissa asked noticing his wavering attention.

"Hm? No, I'm fine," Clay said turning back to her. "So…what do you say? Want to be the most adorable couple at the party?"

Before she could answer, someone tapped on her shoulder. They both looked up to see a tall, rugged looking guy standing beside her. He wore a ruffled white button up shirt held to his neck by a loosened skinny black tie, he had a bunch of healed over cuts across his face, he had a couple of bandages on his neck and he had a head of wild looking hair combed to the back. Whoever he was, he wasn't someone to mess with.

"Hey, Nerissa," the man spoke with a gravelly smoker voice. "You seen Wendy anywhere?"

"Nope," she replied. "John's inside if you want to ask him."

"Thanks," he said before looking to Clay. "Who's this?"

"This is Clay…my boyfriend."

Clay's heart skipped a beat hearing that. He had hoped for the party to be their defining moment, so her confirming it right now was exhilarating. He kept his excitement to himself, but he could feel his hand twitch a little.

"Hm," the man said sizing Clay up. "You from around here?"

"No," Clay replied. "I live about twenty minutes north of here."

The man gave a courtesy nod before reaching a hand toward Clay. "Fair enough. Name's Bigby Wolf, local sheriff."

Clay wasn't sure if this was a test or not, but he didn't want to be rude to Nerissa's friend. "Nice to meet you, sir," he replied shaking his hand.

"Glad you can respect the law," Bigby said as he released the shake and looked to Nerissa. "Let me know if Wendy shows up, ok?"

"Sure thing, sheriff," she replied.

"Thanks," he said before looking back to Clay. "Stay out of trouble." Bigby then left the table to talk to that John guy behind the counter.

"I didn't know this district had a local sheriff," Clay said to Nerissa.

"Yes, by the way," Nerissa said unrelated to his comment.

"Hm?"

"I'll go to the party with you," she clarified.

"Really?" He said beaming.

"If Bigby's ok with you, I'm sure everyone else will be too."

He wasn't sure why Bigby's approval was needed, but he was happy to have it. "Wow, f…sweet! When should I pick you up?

"You seriously met her at a cathedral?" Taylor said hushed to Clay as they fell a few paces behind their group

Their group had left the Ant and Grasshopper fifteen minutes ago and were walking down the street admiring this part of town. None of them except for Nerissa had been here before, so Mike proposed they do a little sight seeing before getting some food and calling it a night. So here the four of them were with Cheryl and Mike's date Sally in tow. The recent snowfall had made the walk chilly, but at least it wasn't stuffy like that dance club.

"Um, yeah," Clay whispered back.

"She's awesome!"

"Really?"

"Hell yeah! Pretty, smart, funny. How do you find a girl like that at a cathedral?"

"I must have been extra good this year," Clay joked. He was happy everyone seemed to like Nerissa. He had been worrying all night even when he saw them seemingly getting along.

"Well stake your claim soon. Someone like me might swoop down and snatch her from you."

"For your sake, please don't," Clay said as they rejoined the main group.

"What were you ladies gossiping about?" Cheryl teased. "You know it's rude to keep secrets."

"I know, I know," Taylor said to her. "I asked Clay if he knew any good places to eat here."

"You could have asked the local resident in our group."

"I wanted an outsider's opinion. Her tastes may be too foreign for us."

Clay rolled his eyes as he walked next to Nerissa. "How are you holding up?" He whispered to her.

"I'm alright," she whispered back. She seemed in more pain than usual, but it was hard to tell when she always wore that same worried look. "Cheryl and Sally have been really nice."

"They better," he said.

"I still don't know why Taylor…" she started to say before stopping herself.

"I don't know either," Clay admitted as he looked forward to Mike and Sally. "Hey! You know where we're going?"

"Not really," Mike said cheerfully. "I've passed by here a couple times, but I never checked out any place in particular. That's part of the fun though. We might stumble upon our new favorite places in the city purely by accident. That's always more rewarding."

"Unless we get mugged in some alleyway," Sally mentioned concerned.

"Psh!" Mike scoffed putting an arm around her. "Three guys like us can handle any punk ass muggers."

"Unless they have guns," Sally added.

"Is there a lot of gun violence here, Nerissa?" Mike asked.

"Not really," Nerissa answered. "But—"

"See!" He said cutting her off. "Don't worry. We'll stroll for a little longer, Clay can drop off his lovely lady at her place and we'll make our way to the nearest subway entrance." Mike covertly flashed a wink his direction, making it all too clear what was meant.

Clay sighed as he held Nerissa's hand. He hadn't made up his mind on how this night would end. It's not that he wouldn't want a 'happy ending.' He just…he had only just forgiven Nerissa of her seedy past. Trying to make her hop back in the sack so soon didn't seem very respectful. Hell, they had only been carrying the 'boyfriend and girlfriend' label for a few days now. He needed to see how Nerissa's mood went as they continued this little tour.

As he thought it over, his eyes wandered to his side. He inattentively admired the various buildings they walked past. After everything he thought back at that coffee shop a few days ago, he started to see more appeal in this humble part of the city. It had a very rustic feeling, almost like it was from another time. It was kind of comforting…

….until he spotted someone ducking out of view from under a street light. It scared him enough to make his hand shake in Nerissa's, but he just assumed it was nothing.

"Who does your nails?" He heard Sally say to Nerissa as he checked that side of the street again.

"I do," Nerissa replied. "I had a friend teach me this pattern though."

"You'll have to show me someday. That's just too cute."

Sally went back to chatting with Mike as Clay gave in to the urge to check back again. He didn't see anyone following them this time. It didn't calm him down completely, but at least that meant he should worry less. They just needed to-

"Did you see him too?" She whispered.

Now Clay was scared again. He turned to see her concerned expression. "What?"

"The guy across the street."

He looked back again out of anxiety. "How did you know about that?"

"He's been following us for a few blocks," she said.

A shiver went down his spine hearing that. "Why didn't you say something?"

"What and freak everyone out? It could be a mugger or it could be no one."

"What do we do?"

"That's what I've been thinking about the last few minutes." The two of them checked around the area until she pointed up ahead. "Up there. If he follows us, we'll find Bigby or a policeman to deal with him. If he doesn't, then we're good."

Clay was glad she kept a level head about this. He nodded to her before having them move closer to Mike and Sally. "Hey Mike," he said pointing to the alleyway. "Nerissa says there's something cool over there."

"You mean in the 'mugger alley'?" Mike said teasingly to Sally before turning to Nerissa. "What is it?"

"A really cool graffiti alley," she replied trying not to sound worried.

"Nice," Cheryl said as Taylor and her caught up. "The art of the people!"

"Ugh, graffiti's gross," Sally complained. "Why don't people just paint on a canvas instead of ruining a good wall?"

"So is the Sistine Chapel ceiling graffiti?"

"Well…"

"I win," he said triumphant. "Let's go."

The group quickly entered the alleyway as Clay and Nerissa watched their backs. They hadn't seen anyone yet, so maybe they were in the clear.

"Whoa," they heard Taylor say up ahead.

Clay looked forward to see what caught his attention. Nerissa wasn't kidding that this place was cool. Both walls were completely covered with elaborate and colorful murals of graffiti artwork. It was all fairytale themed, complete with a big bad wolf, little pigs, princes, princesses, castles and endless amounts of related content. It was like giant pages of a children's book expanded onto a building. Whoever the artist or artists were, they were professionals with spray cans. Hell, they even triple coated with meticulous artistic flourishes.

"Holy hell," Cheryl said amazed. "How many people worked on this?"

"Just one," Nerissa said as she continued looking back.

"One person did all of this?"

"They…have a lot of time on their hands."

"Admit it. You're impressed," Mike teased Sally as they continued admiring the scenery.

It was at that point that Clay and Nerissa turned and confirmed their suspicions. Back at the entrance of the alley, a shadowy person almost turned the corner only to stop and attempt to hide nonchalantly. Clay saw enough of to realize they were in trouble though. He made out the guy's spike Mohawk in the shadowed outline, along with a green jacket and….a knife!

"You saw him?" He asked Nerissa.

"Yeah."

"Shit!" He said too loud to not take back.

"What?" Taylor said turning back to the two of them.

"Keep walking," Nerissa said quietly pushing Taylor and Cheryl to move fast.

"Hey!" Cheryl complained pushing against them. "What's the big-"

"There's someone following us with a knife," Clay blurted out.

That got the whole group's attention!

"What?" Sally said.

"Sshh!" Nerissa said to not arouse the follower's attention.

"Did you see who it was?" Mike asked concerned.

"Who cares? Keep moving."

The art appreciation fell to the wayside as the group hurriedly rushed to the other side of the alley. Taylor kept looking back now too, keeping Cheryl close by just in case. They eventually reached the exit and kept close together walking down the sidewalk directly under streetlights.

"Can we take him?" Taylor asked Mike.

"Don't," Cheryl pleaded. "He might hurt you."

"She's right," Nerissa said. "We just need to find someone to help."

"Is there a subway tunnel nearby?" Sally asked holding back her panic.

Clay's curiosity got the better of him as he looked back again to see if the guy was following.

He was and now there was another person following too. This person, however, was more familiar to him. He had recognized the trench coat and red sunglasses from the café the other that person spying on them that whole time preparing for the mugging?

"Don't look at him," Nerissa said

"There's two of them now," he replied to Nerissa's increased worry.

"Two?" Taylor said hearing that.

"I'm scared," Cheryl squeaked.

"Why's everything closed this late?" Mike complained while trying to sound braver than he was.

"Come on," Nerissa said.

She led them across the street as Clay tried hard not to look back. So two people were chasing them for some unknown but surely malicious reason. He knew another person would show up if he looked back, so he tried keeping his eyes forward.

That didn't do much good though. Not too far away, a huge guy leaning against a wall with a humongous beard and spiked leather biker clothing stood up and fast walked towards them. He had to be at least seven feet tall!

Nerissa saw him too, as she now led them into a full sprint down another street nearby.

"Where are we going?" Mike shouted as everyone followed her and Clay's lead. She was too focused on running to answer though, which wasn't helping.

"Slow down!" Cheryl called out to them. "I can't run with these shoes."

"Leave them," Nerissa called back as she quickly slipped out of her heels in mid sprint. Clay would have been impressed had he not been terrified. Talking smack to a bunch of drunks like he did last week was one thing, but people with weapons were another!

The group kept running until they spotted a fourth person charging right towards them. It was another giant dude wearing a hideous gray vest over a black shirt, some torn up jeans and one of the weirdest bowl cuts Clay had ever seen.

"This way," Nerissa said quickly pulling Clay into an alley.

"Wait!" Taylor shouted from behind.

Clay and Nerissa ran down the alley, not daring to look back lest more people showed up. Clay couldn't hear his friends' footsteps anymore and now only heard screams and grunts fading behind the two of them. He wanted to turn around and help, but he was too scared to think straight. Nerissa wasn't stopping either, seemingly single minded on getting them out of dodge.

They exited the alley and quickly rounded a corner. He heard footsteps now, but they were definitely louder than Taylor, Mike or the girls'. The followers were still coming!

Nerissa then yanked him into a store that was still open. Well, not exactly a store. A split second glance revealed that they were in a butcher shop, complete with a barely stocked display of meat, a barely stocked fridge for drinks and a completely full ticket reel on the counter.

He then noticed the butcher of this shop standing behind the counter attempting to close up. He was a middle-aged balding man with big bushy gray eyebrows and a strong, sturdy face. The man clearly wasn't expecting visitors, as their sudden entrance caused him to drop a lump of veal onto the floor.

"What the what?" The man said flustered. "What the blazes are you-?"

"The Hook Man is chasing us," Nerissa said worried as she lifted the folding entrance to get behind the counter. "Please Johann, don't let him find us."

Johann looked to the door as the footsteps got closer. He was definitely scared, but then opened one of the hinged doors to the back storage area.

"Hide here," he said motioning them in. "Don't make a peep."

"Thank you," Nerissa said as she led Clay through. Johann held the door steady so it wouldn't flap when he closed it and then did something outside Clay couldn't see. Nerissa led them further into the storage area, but not too far so she could see out the circular windows on the doors.

Clay was glad and worried Nerissa seemed to know everyone in town, including the guy chasing them. 'The Hook Man'? He decided to ask questions later, however, as he heard the front door outside open. It looked like they would have to hide amongst the hanging carcasses and the brisk cold of a meat locker for the moment.

"Holy hell," Johann said followed by a splat on the floor. "Haven't you heard of knocking? That's a perfectly good veal I just ruined."

Johann must have picked up the veal he dropped to lessen suspicion. That's one way to think on his feet!

"Shut the hell up, meat man," a man with a higher pitched but gruff voice said as two pairs of footsteps entered the store. "Where are they?"

"Who?" Johann replied nervously.

"You know who. The guy and the girl. Where are they?"

"Oh those two? I think they ran past the store a few seconds ago. I just figured they were late for the subway."

There was a pause as Clay heard the two people approach Johann. He held Nerissa's hand tighter.

"You lying, you faggoty ass butcher?" The higher pitched man asked.

"L-lying?" Johann stammered. "Why would I lie about that?"

Crap! Johann was losing his cool. Clay breathed heavier, which prompted Nerissa to quietly shush him.

"Did I stutter?" The higher pitched man said more aggressively.

Johann gawked as a squishing sound was heard and his feet slid off the floor. Did the guy just stab him?

"Tell us where they are, now!" A really, really deep voiced man then said.

"I…I told you," Johann uttered between gasps. "They ran past here."

"I'm giving you to the count of three," the higher pitched man said. "And if you don't say anything, Digo here is going to mash your face onto the walls."

Clay's eyes widened. He didn't want to get this guy killed for hiding them. He tried to move, but Nerissa stopped him with her arm and covered his mouth. He tried calming himself down between deep breaths.

"I don't know what to tell you," Johann gasped. "Go…go look down the street."

"…you know what?" The higher pitched man then said as more squishing was heard, presumably from pulling the knife out. "Screw the counting. Do it, Digo."

Johann yelped before a loud slam was heard against a nearby wall. Then another was heard. And another. And another. Each one was followed by a pained groan from Johann that got more muddled from blood.

"That jogging your memory?" The higher-pitched man said.

"I…" Johann said, his words garbled with blood. "I don't…"

"Do it again."

Two more slams were heard, causing Clay to wince harder.

"Is there another way out?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, but they might be waiting out there," she replied.

Just then, Johann's head bumped into the hinged doors ahead of them as he was thrown to the ground.

"Looks like we're going to have to do an impromptu search," the higher-pitched man said chuckling as they walked to the doors.

Nerissa quickly dragged Clay further back into the storage room past the hanging beef. He tried his best not to bump into any of them, which was easier said than done.

"Here!" Nerissa said hushed as they ducked behind a large stack of boxes

"Bring him along," the higher pitched man said to that Digo guy. "Maybe he'll have a change of heart."

Clay peaked out between a crack in the boxes to see the big bearded guy pushing carcasses aside and searching the area. The guy was even more intimidating up close. His scary biker outfit stretched against his bulging muscles and tree trunk like neck. His fingernails were practically claws and his beard was so thick that Clay couldn't even see a mouth. Those beady green eyes searched the area like floodlights as he dragged Johann behind him. The poor butcher's face looked like it had been smacked with a hammer a hundred times. He was surprised the guy was still alive.

Behind the two of them was the man who started this whole thing. Clay recognized the yellow colored Mohawk easy enough, but the rest of him was just an oddity. The guy was dressed in a bright green jacket over a yellow shirt and wore a pair of terribly torn up black jeans. He had two red tears tattooed under his eyes that distracted from the multiple cuts across his face. Half of his left ear was missing too, which added a creepy asymmetrical appearance.

The weirdest part, however, was the thing that was the man's namesake. Apparently it wasn't a knife after all. In place of the right hand, the man had a jagged metal prosthetic hook. Johann's blood dripped from the tip as the man scanned the place behind the big guy.

"Smell anything, Digo?" The Hook Man asked.

"Lots of rotten meat," Digo said sniffing a few more times.

"Well what do you see then?"

"Still more rotten meat."

Small wisps of cold escaped Clay's nostrils as he tried holding his breath. He watched Digo get closer to the boxes and moved away from the opening. He panicked, but as soon as he thought they would get caught, Johann began talking again.

"I told you..." He eked out of his mangled mouth. "Th...there's no..."

"Shut it!" The Hook Man said giving a swift kick to the butcher's ribs. Johann coughed and wheezed as the Hook Man turned back to Digo. "Hey, big bad and hairy! You see them or not?"

After a brief pause, Digo walked back to him. "Nope," he said as he gagged in disgust. "I like my meat dead, but this place sucks."

"Just...leave me alone," Johann groaned.

"I'm not happy with your tone, meat man," The Hook Man said as Clay saw him press his foot onto Johann's ribs. "You've been yanking our chain this whole time. I should cut you up right here and add a little irony to your night."

"Boss said no killing," Digo said.

"Boss said not to kill the boy," The Hook Man pointed out. "He didn't say nothing about assholes and mundies."

"It won't look good to see the town's beloved butcher eviscerated in his own meat locker."

"Fine..." The Hook Man groaned.

The Hook Man picked up Johann, dragged him over to an open meat hook...and impaled him upside down through the man's leg! Clay's mouth dropped as blood dripped off the hook.

"How about you hang around for a while and think about your behavior?" The Hook Man teased. "Then you'll learn not to waste people's time."

"Yeah, like you should too," Digo said as he started leaving. "What should we do about the Mundies?"

"I got a few ideas," The Hook Man said evilly.

Clay and Nerissa waited a while after the guys left the building before leaving their spots. Before Nerissa could say anything though, Clay bolted out of the meat locker to the front. The Hook Man said they were looking for HIM specifically. He wasn't going to let his friends die for him. It didn't matter what those guys would do to him.

He slammed through the hinged doors and was about to hop over the counter.

Until he saw blood splatter onto the window. Outside, that Digo guy continued slamming Mike against the outside wall. All of Clay's courage faded quickly as he ducked beneath the counter. The Hook Man's whiny laughter only made him squirm more.

"Gonna have to ask you more nicely, boy?" The Hook Man said.

"Stop it!" Sally shouted through tears and sorrow. "You're killing him."

"Scream again, bitch! Your pain's delicious!"

Clay heard Mike spit out was what likely a tooth and mutter something.

"Speak up," the Hook Man taunted. "Can't hear you when you mumble."

"You…" Mike struggled to say. "You won't find him."

"Does everyone have to be so disagreeable today?" The Hook Man said annoyed. "Aggie. Golem. You got them under control?"

Nobody replied. In the distance, Clay heard a speeding car coming their way.

"Good," The Hook Man said. "Hey mundies, wanna see something horrible?"

Their footsteps walked back around the corner. Clay decided maybe he should now take the initiative to turn himself in and not be so pathetic.

This turned out to be futile though. As he stood up to walk outside, he saw Mike's bodied body get flung into the street…

...and land right ahead of a speeding taxi.

Time moved in slow motion as Clay was unable to look away. He couldn't see past another parked car on the curb, but had little doubt the sounds he heard were Mike being decapitated underneath the taxi's tire.

"What the hell are you doing?" He heard Digo shout over the sobs from his friends.

"Lightening the load," The Hook Man said. "Serves him right. Grab them."

Clay heard a bunch of footsteps run back down the alley as the taxi driver exited the vehicle in panicked shock over his accidental manslaughter. The feeling was mutual for Clay. His heartbeat was off the charts and his head felt heavy.

"Thanks for helping me down," a familiar voice said behind him.

Clay turned to see Johann resting on Nerissa's shoulder as she helped him walk to the front of the shop. If he wasn't disgusted and terrified enough, the sight of Johann's quickly healing face, the stab wound in his shoulder and that giant hole that should have crippled his leg only made things worse.

"Clay?" Nerissa said seeing his concern.

"I...I can explain," Johann tried to reassure him. It was too late though. The lights were growing dimmer and the room was spinning. Clay had never had this happen before, so he had no idea what to expect.

"Oh god..." was the last thing he heard Nerissa say before he passed out onto the floor. Sound disappeared from existence and all that was left in his body before losing consciousness was sorrow and regret. This was just supposed to be a nice night out...

And so begins the story. Let me know what you think in reviews or PM's to me. Your feedback is vital in making things enjoyable for everyone!