Justin's POV

There she is again. I see this girl at almost every single party I go to. She's honestly the most beautiful girl I've ever seen with the most breathtaking smile God has ever created. I'm so familiar with her voice, although its never been directed towards me. I only hear her strained voice yelling over the loud music to her friends, but it still haunts my dreams at night. I wonder if she knows I stare at her the whole night, every single time we're at the same party. She's probably used to guys staring at her, though. I mean, she must know how gorgeous she is.

"Hey Justin, what's wrong with you tonight?" J.C. asks, breaking me from my trance.

"What? Oh, nothing man," I respond, taking a sip from my beer. "Hey Jayce, who's that girl over there?"

"Oh, that's Britney. Nobody to waste your time worrying about."

"Why?" I ask curiously. "Do you know her?"

"Why do you want to know about her so bad, J?"

"No reason I just, uh, I see her all the time. It would just be nice to have a name with the face."

"Well forget about it," he says, beginning to walk away. "Come on, let's go get some more drinks."

I stand out on the balcony of the apartment, pulling my leather jacket tighter to me as the cold November air nips at me. I lean my elbows against the railing and look down at the always busy New York streets. I hear the door behind me slide open and the noise of the party inside engulf the air. But it becomes silent again as the door closes. I'm too interested in the fight about to break out on the streets below me to care who came outside.

"You got a lighter?"

I whip my head around to make sure my ears aren't deceiving me. Could that really be the voice of the angel I hear in my dreams? Is she really talking to me? Sure enough, she's standing in front of me looking even more beautiful close up. She innocently holds up her cigarette when I stare at her without answering.

"Uh, yeah. Yes I do," I say quickly as I reach into my pocket. She gives me a lop sided grin and takes a few steps towards me, her heels clicking on the ground. I flick the lighter on and hold it out for her, holding my breath as she leans forward and starts the cigarette. She pulls away and turns her head to blow the smoke away, smiling at me when she turns back.

"Thanks," she says in a small voice as she steps forward and leans on the railing.

I take a moment to survey her. She has a cute dress on that would be more appropriate for summer time and a pair of white wedges on. Her blonde hair is strait and isn't very long, just to her shoulders. She has some brown eye shadow perfectly around her eyes and she smells of a sweet floral scent.

"Aren't you cold?" I ask her, finally finding my voice.

"What?" She says as she turns to look at me. I motion to her outfit that leaves her perfect shoulders, arms, and legs exposed to the cold air. "Oh, right," she says with a laugh. "The things girl do to look good, huh?"

"Do you want my jacket?" I ask her, beginning to take it off.

"No no. I'm used to it. But thanks, that's really sweet of you." She gives me another smile that sends shivers down my spine. "So," she says, blowing the smoke into the air. "Are you stalking me or something?"

I turn to her and give her a confused look. "What?"

"Well you keep showing up to every party I go to. I mean, you're obviously stalking me," she says giving me a teasing smile.

"I could say the same for you," I say with a chuckle.

"I'm Britney," she says, holding her hand out for me. I gladly take it and am amazed by how soft and warm her tiny hand is, and by how perfectly it fits in mine.

"Justin," I say, reluctantly letting her hand go.

"Justin…" she whispers my name, as if testing out how it feels from her lips. I feel a heat wave go through my body when she says it. "Listen, do you want to go get something to eat with me? I'm tired of being here, and I'm hungry."

My heart swells and I have to hide the huge smile on my face so I don't look like an idiot.

"Yeah," I say, "lets get out of here."

I sit across from her in the empty diner, watching how cute she is as she eats her slice of pie.

"You sure you don't want any?" She asks with her mouth full.

"Not hungry," I say easily.

"Suite yourself," she says taking another huge bite, trying to show me how delicious it is.

"You're not from around here, are you?" I ask her.

"How can you tell?" She asks kind of shyly.

"You mean besides the accent?" I say, causing her to blush. "I can just tell by the way you walk, the way you talk. Where are you from?"

"Louisiana," she says, finishing off her pie.

I can't help the smile that tugs at my lips. "Southern girl, huh?"

"What do you know about southern girls?" She asks, raising her eyebrow.

"I'm originally from Tennessee."

"You are?" She says, perking up when I mention my roots. "But you don't seem like it."

"I've been here for a while," I respond with a smile. "How long have you been here?"

"Two years."

"Why'd you come out here?"

"Well…long story," she says as she looks down at her plate. I decide not to push the question. "You wouldn't mind taking me home, would you?" She asks with a shy smile.

"Are you fucking crazy, Justin?" J.C. says to me from across the table. We were at work the morning after the party. I take a sip of my coffee, trying my best to go off of three hours of sleep since I stayed out so late talking to Britney. "I told you to stay away from that girl!"

"No you didn't," I say with a bored expression. "You just told me not to worry about her."

"Okay well I'm telling you now. Stay away from her. That girl is bad news."

"Bad news?" I ask with a laugh. "She's the sweetest girl I've ever met."

"I'm sure she's a nice girl, but she's dangerous. Just the simple fact that you were talking to her could get you in trouble."

"J.C. what the fuck are you talking about?" I ask, getting frustrated.

"Do you have any idea who her boyfriend is?"

"Boyfriend?" I ask, feeling my heart break. She never mentioned having a boyfriend, but then again, I never asked her.

"Yeah, boyfriend," he says, getting up from the table. "Do you know who Anthony Thomas is?"

"Uh, no."

He walks over to get the news paper from the stack and flips through it until he finds what he's looking for.

"This is Anthony Thomas. Her boyfriend."

He points to an article about the most notorious drug dealer in New York. He's known for selling all kinds of drugs as well as being in the prostitution business. I immediately know who this guy is when I see his picture and realize who he is.

"There's no way," I say pushing the paper away from me.

"But it's the truth J," he says, waving the paper in my face. "You're the only guy in the city who doesn't know who she is and who her boyfriend is."

"Why would she run around with someone like him?" I ask in disbelief. "She's such a nice girl."

"When she came to New York as a sweet naïve little southern girl, she got mixed up in that crowd. Despite her clean cut image, she's been his girl ever since."

I feel the blood rush to my hands as I hear him talk. How could someone as beautiful and sweet and angelic as Britney be with someone so vile?

"I like her J.C. I really really like that girl. And she said she wanted to see me again. We had a great time last night just talking. We clicked."

"I don't care if you clicked," he said, getting in my face. "If Anthony ever finds out you were even talking to her, he'll have you killed. Didn't you ever wonder why all those parties you saw her at, she was only talking to two girls the whole time, and nobody dared to go near her? That's because they know that if Tony finds out anyone talks to his girl, he'll lose his shit."

I just stared strait ahead as he tells me this.

"Stay away from her Justin. I don't care how beautiful she is. I don't care how charming she is. She's bad news. Stay away."

But I didn't want to stay away. And I was determined to see her beautiful face again, someway, somehow.