[13:30 Munroe Household]
[5 Months After Incident]

Mia hadn't heard from Josh for over two months after he sent her the text, and she was beginning to get antsy. Mike couldn't be around her all the time, and after alienating most of her friends, she had become quite the shut in. Her physical therapy finished a few weeks ago and as much as she hated going to it, it gave her something to do on a daily basis. Now without it, she had only been bouncing between Netflix, her game console and the kitchen.

She had curled up on the couch with a blanket around her small form. The hot weather outside had persuaded her to stay inside and tucked away from humanity. With her parents working and Mike out of the house, she had everything in the home to herself and no one to tell her how and when to do things. She should have been relaxed, but that wasn't the case. Mia was on edge and every few minutes, she'd glance over her shoulder, half expecting to see the tall creature from months ago. The thought of being alone still made her skin crawl. Mike had offered to stay home with her in case she needed anything, but she knew he had a life outside of her and insisted that he go have fun on his own. She clutched the controller of the Xbox as her tired sepia orbs stared at the screen, transfixed by whatever warfare game she had her hands on. The violent gunfire and explosions filled her head and she had almost been in a trance with how fixated she was on winning the round. One more and-

The shrill cry of the doorbell startled her. Her controller flew out of her hands and clattered across the floor as Mia herself became hopelessly tangled in her blankets. They grabbed at her like fingers and twisted around her body. She attempted to free herself, but the couch suddenly disappeared from under her and she fell to the floor with a thud! "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" She hissed at the blankets as they continued trying to engulf her and make her one of their own.

Finally freed from her suffocating prison, she scrambled to her feet and across the house. "Coming!" She called to the door before swinging it open, expecting a delivery from UPS or her brother at the very least, but she was greeted a friend she didn't expect to see. Matthew stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets and shuffling his feet awkwardly as he waited. It was obvious that he was anxious. The sound of the door opening made him look up from the ground and at her and he cracked a small smile before a silence settled over them. She just blinked her doe eyes in surprise and watched his actions. What did he want?

"I uh…" he fumbled over his words as he tried to form a proper sentence. He didn't think he would really get as far as he did, so he didn't plan far enough ahead. He thought that she would take one look at him and slam the door in his face, but she hadn't and he wasn't sure what to say to her. "Hey," he managed to squeak out nervously.

Mia just blinked once more, as if her mind was racing to process the situation. "Hey," she replied, though her voice was notably more confident than his. "What's up?"

He swallowed a lump in his throat and plucked at the hem of his white t-shirt. "I just wanted to…" he gave a sigh and hesitated as he tried to decide how to word himself. After a tense silence between them, he took a leap of faith."I didn't want to leave things how they were the last time I saw you. You were so upset and I…I wanted to say that we didn't mean for-"

She held up her soft palm and shook her head, cutting him off. "It's fine," she paused, "Well, it's really not, but dwelling over what's happened isn't helping any of us we just need to…" Mia took a deep breath. Her words seemed to cause her a great deal of pain judging from her contorted facial expression. The hand that rested by her side was tightly clenched, but after a deep inhale, she began to relax her grip. "Move on from it…"

Matt was slightly taken aback by her words, yet he welcomed them nonetheless. "Yeah, I'd like that." He cracked a bright smile even as worry still nagged at the back of his head. He knew that Mia was not so forgiving. She still had a grudge against a girl that threw a basketball at the back of her head during freshman year, even after she had gotten her revenge against the poor thing by putting laxatives in her water bottle during the same gym class. Mia had taken such offense to such a petty crime, yet she desired to move on from a more serious offense? He shook his head; the football player didn't want to push the subject and hurt what little progress they had made. "So…Are you uh," he still wasn't sure why he was so nervous to talk to her. Threatening to beat him up wasn't the problem; they went to the gym together all the time and he had made the mistake of taking her on a few times. The ghost of an ache in his ribs wasn't what was making him nervous, but he couldn't put his finger on what was. "Are you doing anything today?"

"Actually, I-"A familiar drop of a bass caught Mia's attention and made her glace at the cracked screen of her smart phone. Josh Washington's name lit up the screen and her heart skipped a beat in anticipation. "Come over?" Two words made her world so much more vibrant. She sincerely wanted to see Josh, but Matt… "I told Josh I would watch a movie with him today. He's been really busy and hasn't seen me since…," She paused for a moment and her silence danced around the awkward subject. then reached one hand out and stepped from the foyer and onto the front porch. The chill of her fingertips against the skin of his forearm sent an eager chill up his spine. "But I haven't been cleared to drive yet so I could really use a ride." He nodded at her and snatched the keys off the belt loop of his jeans.

"I got you. I'll get you there in five minutes, no sweat." Mia seemed pleased with his answer as a smile spread across her face. She scurried inside and rushed around to turn off the lights. He leaned against the door frame as she rushed around. "How do you wear long sleeve shirts all the time? Like don't you get hot?"

"Yeah, but it's better than being cold. And I mean I can take it off," she teasingly pulled up the hem of her black shirt and allowed her alabaster skin peeked out, along with the tail end of the scar that tore across her once smooth stomach. He had completely forgotten that she had scars from her incident at the beginning of the year and quickly averted his gaze before she could catch him staring at the angry reminder of his mistakes. She quickly returned with her backpack that she had brought with her to the lodge a months prior. She snatched her flats from the front of the door and hurried out the door. It closed shut behind her and she locked it with a soft click. "Alright, let's blow this popsicle stand, Camry."

He gave a slight sigh and pulled his keys from his deep pockets. Matthew didn't have a particularly good car; it was a used 2007 Toyota Camry, and it painted a generic gold color like every other middle class teenager's car. "Don't knock it or you're walking."

Mia crossed her arms stubbornly as she walked along. "I'm not saying it's a bad car, I'm just saying…" the playful silence lingered between them for a moment before she broke it once more. "Mine is waaaay better."

Matt rolled his chocolate orbs and shook his head dismissively. "Mine runs and it's got AC. That's pretty sweet by me." Mia stuck out her pink tongue at him and he cracked a pearly white grin. "I'm serious about making you walk."

"Yeah right," she mused as she opened the passenger's door and immediately went for the FM transmitter attached to the cigarette lighter socket, "You're way too nice to throw me out." She popped the headphone jack into the proper slot and began scrolling through her Spotify account. He shook his head, knowing full well that she was completely correct. With the key in the ignition, he turned it and the engine roared to life.

"I hate when you're right." His hand placed itself on the back of her seat near her slight shoulders and he turned to look out his back window.

"You must hate me a lot- Oh!" Mia squeaked in delight as she landed on the song she wanted. Electronic beats filled the car and she turned up the volume. It was a little too loud for his tastes, but she'd have her way regardless. Resistance was futile. Again, he shook his head dismissively and backed out her driveway and pulled off into the direction of the Washington house. "Straight to Josh's house?"

"Yeah."

"Do I need to buy you any protection?" He playfully smirked at her and waggled his eyebrows teasingly. Her cheeks flushed a vibrant red and she tucked her body away from him to shield the embarrassment.

"No!" she squealed as she smacked his well toned arm, "Shut up!" Despite hitting him so hard, she couldn't knock the grin off of his face.

"Someone is crushing hard."

"Shut up!" She squeaked once more and tucked herself away, perhaps hoping she would disappear entirely. "That's not how it is!"

"Sure it isn't," he teased and took a turn. She lived within five minutes of her destination. She could have walked easily there and back with little trouble. "You're not the only one who's got it bad. Josh is just," Matt pondered for a moment and he bobbed his head side to side as he tried to word himself delicately," He's not the most romantic." From the stories that he heard of previous girlfriends, that was a bit of an understatement. He was so much more informal about relationships than most and he seemed to almost border a friends-with-benefits type relationship with how casual and relaxed he tried to be romantically. Those ideals seemed to backfire on him when past romantic interests wanted something more serious and intimate. Josh Washington seemed to have a hard time being serious when it came to most matters. Mia and Josh however…He seemed to pine after her harder than he did others.

Mia puffed out an exasperated breath of air as the Washington home came into view. A chill went up her spine as realization hit her. The house would be so empty with two less people. How was Josh faring with the loneliness? She hoped he was ok. They came to a stop and Mia uncurled herself and put her phone back in her pocket and opened the car door. Before getting out, she leaned over the middle console and pressed a playful peck of a kiss on Matt's cheek. "Thanks. You're the best."

He blinked in genuine surprise. Physical affection was a rare occurrence for Mia, even more so after the incident. Only Mike seemed to get any semblance of it. The shock rattled his thoughts until the door slammed and she was sauntering to the front door. With a sigh, he drove off. Something still seemed amiss to him, though he put it to the back of his head as his stomach growled at him. He hadn't eaten since early that morning before practice and he was next to starving.

Mia stared up at the huge home; it looked like it had been plucked out of the pages of a magazine and placed in front of her. The picturesque home was one of the best places to have a movie marathon or play games for hours with the high-tech in home theater they had set up. Popcorn machines, fountain drinks, wonderful kitchen downstairs… "Fuckin' rich people…" she mumbled as she walked to the door. Her family was well off, but they still paled in comparison to the Washington fortune, and with two less…

She shook her head and opened the door without knocking. She had gone over countless times before; she practically had free reign of the home. Mia's plump lips parted as she contemplated calling Josh's name, but she heard his voice drifting from the hallway upstairs. Another voice joined him, but it was off…as if it was almost electronic.

"So, did you make a move?" It was Chris, though…fuzzy. Her dark brows furrowed as she moved beneath the stairs to avoid being caught eavesdropping. She wasn't sure what took over her, but she had to know what they were talking about.

"That's the problem!" Josh huffed in frustration, his steps heavy. "I think I already did."

He thought that he did? She was no expert, but pressing a girl against the wall and kissing her senseless was 'a move' in her book. Not that she was complaining. "I don't remember what happened."

A cold hand grabbed at her stomach and squeezed her nauseous. Of course he didn't remember, how stupid could she be? She held a sigh of disappointment and clutched at the fabric of her shirt as she snuck back over to the front door.

"Dude. How could you not remember. I don't like Mia like that, but damn she's got the booty." Josh ran a hand through his hair, guilt racking him. He so wanted to remember. The feel of her skin against his calloused fingers, the curve of her own body against his own, her spiced scent so close to him and the sensation of her lips feverishly pressed against his own. Josh wished he could relive the sensation, not dream up the possibilities of what it could have been. Chris, via face time, watched him with amusement. Seeing his friend so flustered was a rare treat. Josh seemed torn up about not being able to remember.

"Whatever happened, that's not what I wanted." he grumbled and yanked off his hoodie, leaving him in a T-Shirt with an obscure company logo. He liked her more than just physically. Sure she was lovely to look at, and Chris was right about her having the proper lady lumps. Having sex with her would not be a problem for him, but it went beyond that. He didn't want to just have her believe that he wanted her for a quick roll in the sheets. Josh wanted to take her out on a date, with just him and her and not everyone else. Or at least do something to show her that he cared so much.

"You still have a chance, man. Just do it, don't let your dreams-" Josh shook his head as Chris began to quote the Shia Lebouff meme that ravaged the internet. The sound of the front door opening and closing prompted him to end the call without as much as a goodbye to his friend and throw his phone on the countertop where it landed with a clatter.

"I'm here!" Mia Shouted as Josh looked over the railing and down at where he expected her to be, but it seemed like she made a beeline for the restroom. "Give me just a moment."

Before he could answer her, she closed the door behind her and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were beginning to grow red as tears threatened to spill out, but she wiped them away and turned on the tap water and splashed the steaming liquid on her face. Of course it wasn't what he wanted… She gave a sigh and reached for the towel that usually hung just off to the side. There was only air in its place, and she sighed once again and began opening drawers and cabinets. A spare had to be around…

The first four just had essentials for the bathroom; face towels, spare soap bars, travel sized toothpaste…Nothing she needed. The fifth and final drawer had a small, fluffy white hand towel, which she took, but something else came out with it and clattered onto the floor. Mia picked up the orange bottle and read the label: Clozapine. It was Josh's medicine, and the date on it said that he had just picked it up the day before. So why was it empty? A frown crawled onto her face as she shook it, just to make sure there was nothing else. She snapped a quick picture of it and placed it back in its proper place. With one last look in the mirror after drying off and a fake smile, Mia walked out.

"Boo!" Mia squealed in surprise and flailed in surprise when two arms picked her up around the waist and twirled her around merrily. She kicked her legs at him in an attempt to force him to put her down, but they couldn't reach, and she was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Put me down!" she squealed. She wanted to be angry with him, to push him away and distance herself, but she didn't have the heart to do it. "Joshua Washington!" He slowed after a moment, but his grin hadn't melted off his face. Mia knew it was sincere, and he felt the cold hands grabbing at her heart and shaking it. She couldn't throw her feelings away, as much as she wanted to. It would save them both pain in the end, but she was too selfish to stop, even if it hurt her worse than any monster ever could. One word came to mind as she playfully punched his arm: Masochist.

[16:56 Munroe Household]
[6 Months After Incident]

Mia's eyes were tirelessly scanning the computer, looking for every possible article on Clozapine. She knew Josh's medicine wasn't the one she had accidentally knocked out the drawer. He was just on antidepressants before, but that's not what this new medication was. They were antipsychotics, not that it mattered to her what he was taking. The fact that he wasn't taking them was the problem. Every scholarly article she found warned of withdrawal from the medication, but Josh seemed perfectly fine. Her pink tongue ran over her teeth in anticipation. Was he really ok?

She unlocked her phone and quickly scrolled to Josh's name. Her eyes were locked on the picture of his vibrant smile, and in a girlish fit months back, she had put a heart emoji next to his name. Mia could only pray that he would never find out this dirty little secret. Her manicured finger hovered over the small picture of a telephone before pressing it and putting it to her ear as she continued scrolling through symptoms, hoping to find anything to give her a clue.

Nausea? Not that she knew of…"Hope not…"

Vomiting/Diarrhea?

Didn't seem like he was doing a lot of that, at least around her…"Yuck."

Hypersalivation? Diaphoresis? Not really…She'd probably notice excessive drooling…"Still gross…"

"Hello?" She didn't hear Josh's voice on the other line as she continued.

Insomnia and agitation. "Maybe so…" She breathed out and clicked another article.

Rapid onset of psychosis… She pursed her lips together; she hoped that he was alright…

"Earth to Mia," His voice snapped her out of it and she perked up, her face flushing red in embarrassment.

"Shit, sorry; I was really into some…" she paused and looked at the screen, trying to think of anything to say that wasn't the full truth. "…Homework."

He laughed, seemingly buying her excuse, "I'm glad I don't have to deal with that anymore." There was a soft click of a closing door on his end and the squeak of his mattress before he continued. "Any reason you called?"

White teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she hesitated. "I uh…" she stammered; she couldn't put this off any longer, and more time with Josh was always a good thing…right? "Can we um…" the sentence couldn't form properly and she cursed herself, as if it wasn't already awkward before. "Can we go do something?"

On the other line, Josh blinked in surprise. She wanted him…to go out with her? His jaw slackened slightly and he stayed silent for a second, not quite believing his ears. This was exactly what he wanted. Before his chance could escape him, he rushed a quick reply and jumped up off his bed out of excitement and began pacing. "Yeah! Yeah!" he yelped as he tripped over his ottoman and lost his balance. "When?"

"Well, now would be good, but if you're busy-"

"I'll be there in five. Wear something sexy for me." She could hear the wink on his face just through his tone, but he hoped that he couldn't feel the heat from her face from her side. Before she could reply, he hung up on her. Her hand fell from the side of her face and she laid her eyes upon the screen. His picture stared back at her tauntingly and despite his enthusiasm, she found herself almost dreading being with him. He didn't like her the way that she desired him to, and it was just hurting her. She just couldn't tear herself away from him.

Her screen turned black and a flash of movement made her stiffen up and whip her head behind her; nothing was there. She sucked in a deep breath before swallowing the lump in her throat. Those things still haunted her, even though they weren't real. Telling someone about what really happened wouldn't help; she'd just get made fun of or sent to the looney bin. She inhaled a shaky breath and stood up from her desk, joints popping gently as she did. She grabbed the back of her T-shirt and prepared to yank it off when her brother's voice startled her. "Hey M-" She flailed, trapped by the shirt that was already halfway off her body before catching her foot on the corner of her bed and falling backwards onto the carpet with a squeal, this shirt bunched up and just below her breasts. Mike couldn't contain himself and bellowed out a hearty laugh. "Oh god! Good job."

She grumbled and pulled her shirt down. "Fucker…"Mia rolled onto her feet and threw her weight against her twin in an attempt to move him out of her room. "Knock before you come in!"

He didn't budge an inch; she could have flipped him onto his ass for sure, but a simple shove wasn't enough to get the massive teen going. "Door was open."

"So?!" He rolled his chocolate eyes and leaned against the frame of her door. With her attempts to get rid of him thwarted, she pouted and went to her closet. "Well there's obviously something you want-"

"Going on a date?" A cold knife stabbed into Mia's chest; Mike had heard her conversation. What embarrassing lecture was he going to give her? She sighed and shook her head as she grabbed a cardigan from off a hanger and tugged it on over her arms.

"It's not a date."

"Yeeah…Sure."

"He doesn't even like me anyway."

"You keep telling yourself that crap," Mike rolled his eyes as he watched his sister dart around the room hurriedly. She ignored him as she ran a brush through her short locks and tried to clip a necklace around her neck. When she couldn't seem to find guide the hook and clasp into the right spot, Mike removed himself from the doorway and walked over to her and took the thin gold chain from her. His hands weren't as skilled and delicate as hers, but they got the job done. "Seriously M, you can't honestly-"

"Mike." Mia said, annoyance in her tone, "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to you-"

"Mike." He held up his hands in defeat and took a step back. Talking to his sister when she was annoyed was pointless.

"You sure you're alright alone with him?"

It was her turn to cast a skeptical wiskey gaze over her shoulder. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well ever since…" an akward silence fell over the two of them, and he coughed to break it before continuing,"He's doing alright?"

"Yeah." Her response was natural even though she wasn't entirely sure it was correct. Whatever was going on, she didn't want her brother getting into the middle of it and making things worse. Things were understandably tense between Josh and the rest of the group as he still mourned over the loss of his family. Mike sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Stop that."

"What?"

Mia imitated his action dramatically, mussing her own locks. "That thing!"

"It's better than me pulling it all out because you're stressing me out." His tone was playful and one of his award winning grins crept on his face for a moment before falling back into his neutral expression. His eyes searched her for any sign of distress, but there was nothing for him to find. "But seriously, your date-"

"Not a date."

"Whatever," He pointed at her seriously," Don't do anything I wouldn't do- well…" She raised a brow and crossed her arms, allowing him to fix his mistake. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't. We're just going to go get a smoothie or…something." She actually didn't know what he had in mind.

"Yeah, well I'm cooking dinner tonight, and if you're not here, I'm going to eat it all."

She rolled her eyes and walked out when she saw the flash of headlights pulling into the driveway. "Fatass." Mike quickly followed behind her, but as she veered off to the side to get her shoes, he sauntered out the door and towards Josh and his unnecessarily expensive and lavish vehicle. The Washington boy turned his verdant eyes to Mike ad blinked owlishly as he rolled down the window. Mike leaned his arms on the hood of the small car and looked inside, leveling his gaze with Josh's.

"Sweet ride."

"Thanks-"

"I swear to whatever flatbread loving god there is…you hurt her, I hurt you. Capiche?" The air between them tensed up as Josh swallowed the sudden lump in his throat.

"Come on, you know me-"

"Capiche?" Mike growled lowly, deadly serious despite his humorous wording. Josh could only nod stiffly and hope to god Mia would come save him.

"Mike."

He whispered out a breathy "thank you," to whoever granted his wish and straightened up in his seat. Mike too had straightened up and the fierce look that was on his face moments before dissipated instantly as he faced his sister with an innocent grin.

"Hey there, just chatting with my brother here, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah totally." Josh couldn't help but absentmindedly agree as he stared up at Mia. His dumb grin grew as she shooed away her brother. His eyes trailed down her body, engraving the memory of how her tight jeans clung to her curves as if they were painted on her skin. She turned to finally face him after ensuring Mike returned to the comfort of their home and his attention snapped up to her perfect face. "Hey…" he said simply, not having a well placed movie reference to convey the pleasure he got from her presence.

She returned the smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling slightly as it spread from ear to ear. "Hey…" Even if he didn't return her feelings, the pleasure of having him just there was enough to make her heart flutter with joy and forget the serious nature of why she called him over. He pointed to the passenger seat, where a leather bound journal sat on her seat, begging to be opened. She scurried over and picked it up before plopping her rear into the seat and buckling up. "What's this?"

Josh turned to look over his shoulder to back out. He placed a hand on Mia's seat to help him support his body as he backed out the driveway, his thumb bushing against her gently sloping shoulders as he did. He hoped that the slight touch would get some sort of reaction, but there was nothing. "Nothing, just something I want you to read." He withdrew his hand and rested it on the cup holder between them, his fingertips edging closer to her thigh as he drove out onto the street, going above speed limit in the small neighborhood. "It's a script for a movie I want to make. I want your opinion on it, since you hold no punches."

She laughed and flipped open the book, "Honesty is the best quality." Her fingertips gently traced over the outline of the picture that was messily scrawled on the first page. A man in overalls with a grotesque clown-like face stared back at her, his eyes full of malice and his lips missing to reveal teeth that were drawn into what seemed to be a disapproving frown. "Is this the bad guy?"

"Antagonist," he corrected her, his eyes on the road. "I wouldn't say he's bad."

"He looks scary…"

"I'm going for the whole Jason Voorhees angle with a twist," he chuckled as he felt her confused chocolate eyes on his face. "Friday the Thirteenth. He wanted to avenge his mother's death. And this guy," He tapped the paper lightly, his eyes still on the road, "he's not the real bad guy."

Mia chuckled at the enthusiasm in his voice. It was the most alive he had sounded in months. This story was giving him a reason to enjoy living. "I see, then who is the real bad guy?" They came to a stop and Josh turned in his seat and looked down at her, a crooked, coy smile plastered onto his face as he leaned slightly closer to her.

"Well you're going to have to read it to find out."