For my "Forget Me Not" readers: I know I've been doing nothing but apologizing for not updating in almost two months but I could really use your patience right now. I'm going through a tough time right now with college, my classes, and trying to figure out if I should change my major or not. Depression has hit me multiple times this pass month and I'm finding it more and more difficult to continue writing Chapter 2 of that story. BUT! Don't worry I will update FMN as soon as winter break hits sometime in December. I just don't have the time right now. Just know that I will not abandon that story, okay? :)

Anyway enough about how sucky my life is right now. This is just a little idea that came to me a few days after taking the subway at night to meet with my friends at Universal Studios for Halloween Horror Nights. Something similar (but not as scary as what Quinn's about to go through!) happened to me but I got to my friends just fine. :) I'm planning for this to just be a quick little short story, probably no more than 3 chapters. Since the idea is fresh in my mind I'll try to work on the next chapter this weekend but no promises. Anyway, enjoy reading!

Disclaimer: Zoey 101 and its characters belong to Dan Schneider and Nickelodeon. The only thing I own is my story ideas. (And graphics that I make! ;) Hehe)

Safe

"Stranger"

--Quogan is Love--

Surveying the nearly desolate and foreign subway terminal as she stepped out of the train, she immediately began to regret her decision of leaving the party. Gusts of wind from the departing subway train blew her knee length purple party dress to the side, and pushed several curled locks of brown hair over her shoulder. She looked up at the sign above her and suddenly realized that there were two directions in which people could exit the terminal: stairs on the left and on the right side of her. A woman holding her child's hand walked passed her and made their way up the stairs to the right. Unsure if she was going in the right direction or not, the teen decided to follow in the same direction, hoping that she was not lost. Sure, she had attended PCA for four years but this was one area of Los Angeles she had never been to before in her life. Yeah, maybe she shouldn't have left that party.

'I could have spent my mid semester break with Logan but no… I wanted to spend it with my alcohol-drinking-party-loving cousins,' she thought to herself bitterly as she glared at nothing in particular. 'What were you thinking Quinn?!'

Once she managed to get to the top of the stairs, it wasn't long until she laid her eyes upon a map on the wall near the ticket booths. A small smile graced her glossy lips as relief began to slowly seep into her. Hopefully it would tell her where to go next. The rhythmic tapping of her open-toed heels echoed throughout the entire area and seemed to be the only sound of life within those concrete walls. Where had all the people gone? Oh yeah, it was nearly midnight and most people by this time were safe and warm in their homes. Quinn decided it was best to walk faster.

While examining the map, Quinn failed to notice a set of footsteps coming towards her from behind, until a deep voice spoke up.

"Hey, you need some help there?"

Slightly startled, Quinn whirled around and came face-to-face with a very tall man. He wore a simple black shirt with baggy blue jeans that seemed to be three sizes too large; the only thing that held it up was the worn leather belt around his hips. His black sneakers were worn out: large creases stretching over the tip and dried up mud on the soles of it. From a distance it almost looked as if he had no hair, only because the black follicles were so short and blended with his similarly colored complexion.

Realizing that the man before her asked her something, Quinn looked up into his dark brown eyes with hesitation and confusion, "Um, sorry?"

"You need some help? You lost?" The man asked gesturing over to the map she had been staring at. She didn't miss the creepy way he looked her body over either.

"Oh, uh…" feeling self-conscious, Quinn crossed her arms over her chest and took a small step backwards. "N-no I'm fine." She mentally berated herself for stuttering as she tried to give, what she hoped was, a polite smile before turning back to the map. "Thanks anyway."

He took a step forward, the space between them vanishing by half, and reached out in an attempt to grab or touch her arm. Either way, Quinn was starting to feel increasingly uncomfortable, "You sure hun? You look kinda lost, I can help-"

"No," she made sure to say it more firmly this time as she took another step backwards, slowly inching towards the exit. "I'm fine, really sir." Without even waiting for him to speak again, she turned around and quickly climbed up the stairs that lead to the streets above, trying to look calm even though all the warning signs in her body were telling her to make a run for it.

A cold breeze blew through the moonless night causing goose bumps to rise up on her skin. Although she shivered involuntarily, the breeze felt refreshing and helped calm her nerves somewhat. Right from the moment he spoke to her, Quinn couldn't help but feel the tightening of her throat as fear began to crawl into her veins and felt the strong urge to get away. She wasn't dumb. She knew the dangers of being on the streets late at night, especially if you were a teenage girl. She knew that when she got home her aunt and uncle would probably be angry with her for making them worry – they were in charge of her during her stay with them. She also knew that when she would tell Logan about this, he would be upset with her too but it would only be because he would be worried for her safety.

'Logan,' she sighed sadly as she thought of the one person who she wanted more than anything to be with right now. 'I wonder what you're doing right now…'

Quinn would have stayed at the party and waited until her cousins finally decided to go home. She would've been fine with talking to random people there and making new friends. She was a friendly girl. She would've even been fine with watching everyone else have a good time while she sat on the sidelines. But one thing that she was not fine with, was having a drunk guy hit on her half the time they were there, especially when she felt his hands start wandering southward from their position on her shoulder. Drunk or not, he deserved that slap she gave him on the cheek and the nerve pinch that followed right after. She would have done more if only she had her zap watch and ankle laser with her. Unfortunately, her cousins insisted that she leave them at home because they 'didn't match' with her outfit. Damn cousins. When she had left her cousins at the party, they hadn't even noticed that she left, being too busy either flirting or making out with a guy. Where had her cartoon-watching-kickball-playing cousins had gone to? Oh, that's right. High school. Man, growing up sucks sometimes.

The map down in the subway hadn't helped much because it only showed which trains went to what place. The good news, however, was that now she was above ground her cell phone was working. She decided to call her aunt and uncle first. Hopefully they could pick her up from… wherever she had managed to get to. There weren't much people around and most of the stores around her had long closed for the night. Seeing light coming from a gasoline station, Quinn decided to stand over there while waiting for her aunt or uncle to answer the phone.

"Where are they?" she asked herself quietly, becoming frustrated after redialing their home number for the third time. She would've felt horrible calling and waking them up at this hour but she had to get home and they were her only hope. Still no answer. 'Ugh, this is not happening!'

"Okay, Quinn, you just need to relax okay?" she tended to talk to herself when she was stressed out. "They're probably out or something. It's fine. Who else can you call to pick you up?"

Logan's smiling face instantly came to mind and she found herself missing him more by the second. She really wanted to call and have him pick her up but she didn't want to interrupt his time with his mother. After his parents split up he hardly ever got to see her except for holidays and some birthdays, so she knew how important this time was for him and she wasn't about to ruin that. So calling her boyfriend was out of the question. Ugh, who else to call? A soft beep and vibration caught her attention causing her to look at her cell phone.

'Low battery' flashed at her before the device completely shut off automatically.

"No! Ugh, great…" she held her temple trying to ease the approaching headache. How could this night get any worse?

"What's wrong hun?" eyes widening at the recognition of that voice, Quinn turned around and found the same man from the subway terminal standing no more than ten feet away from her. "Your phone not working?"

Apparently, it could.

Please review!

I apologize for any mistakes you may find. I wrote this in about two or three days and didn't bother reading through it more than once and my supposed beta-reader has vanished. O.o She hasn't replied to my previous message so I don't know what's going on. So, I'm currently looking for a new beta-reader. :)

Until next time!

Always, Mina