Title: --Textaholic

Summary: --The story of a textaholic.

Disclaimer: --I, -ForeverStartsTonight, hereby disclaim the characters, the city of Westchester, New York, the songs and all of the lyrics. However, the plot is completely of my own creation.

Author's Note: This is the kind of story where we re-create Massie's character a lot to make her seem more punk-esque, rebellious and even likable. But sorry my dears, not this time, but I must admit that our beloved Layne Abeley is out of character a bit in this one.

-*-*-*-

If you knew how much I loved you, what would you risk to be with me?

Layne Abeley shook her mane of dark hair as she received yet another text message from an unknown and untraceable number. She should know, she'd been trying to trace this number for three weeks now and she had found nothing about who was sending her these messages. At first she thought this was all a great hoax from the ever-so-bitchy Queen Massie Block, but she had soon ruled that out. Massie wouldn't have been smart enough to do this. She had re-read this text at least a hundred times, but had yet to reply. She had a few hunches who this person would be, but she couldn't be sure and didn't want to point out the wrong person. Who knew what the consequences would be?

Every time this person texted her, she would ask who it was, but it was obvious that this person didn't want her to know because she would never get an answer from them, just another mysterious text.

Can't you just tell me who you are? She would beg him.

If I told you who I was, you could get hurt. You know how the girl's of Westchester are, except for you, of course. Lol. he would reply to her.

She sighed.

How would I know if I loved you if you refuse to tell me your identity? she responded.

Well, my dear, if you love me, you'll see the signs. I grace you with small signs of affection, yet you never seem to notice. he told her.

What do you mean? What have you done? Will you tell me? she asked.

Some advice for you search: pay attention to the small things. he sent.

She told him that his "advice" wasn't much to go on and demanded more, but she couldn't get another response from him.

"Layne!" her older brother, Chris, called from downstairs.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"I'm stopping by the mall to get some new CD's," he shouted from his room. "Want to come?"

She considered saying no, but then thought against it. She needed to get some fresh air anyway.

"Yeah! Just a second," she replied.

Layne ran to her closet and grabbed herself a Hollywood Undead hoodie and stuffed her phone in her pocket along with her wallet.

"Hurry up, Layne!" Chris called.

"I'm coming!" she cried, running down the stairs, through the kitchen and into Chris's car, trying to wave all thoughts of her mystery man from her mind.

-*-*-*-

Layne walked around Hot Topic looking at all of the band logo's that lined the rack of CD's. Cage the Elephant, Hollywood Undead, Rise Against, Rage Against Machine, Three Days Grace, The Strokes. She picked up an album from The Strokes and started towards the cash register. She had remembered a song that she had heard on the radio the other day from them on the way over. She started to hum the song quietly to herself, but she must have not been paying very good attention, because she felt herself run into someone, dropping the CD.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there," she apologized to the person--a boy. She recognized her voice from somewhere, but couldn't place it. She couldn't see the boy's face since it was so dark and they were standing in one of the corners of the store, where it was the darkest.

"It's okay, but it's my fault. I didn't see you either," the boy replied with an odd grin.

"Sorry," she mumbled again, about to leave.

"That's okay," he smirked.

"What?" she asked when she saw that his caramel-brown eyes had flickered to mirror her green ones and hadn't moved.

"Don't recognize your study hall buddy?" he asked, mischief playing in his puppy dog eyes.

That's when it hit her.

"Derrick?" she asked.

"Hey Layne," he smirked. "I wondered when you would recognize me."

Memories flooded Layne's mind. Derrick and her used to have study hall together and Meena had a crush on him, like pretty much every other girl except for Layne and Meena had dared Layne to talk to him, since no one else was. Layne, trying to prove a point, started talking to Derrick and soon enough, Layne was laughing to all of his jokes, helping him with all of his girl problems, giving him advice and holding dear to his secrets that he trusted with no one but her. They used to joke around all the time, but since the semester was over and their classes had changed, they didn't even see each other anymore, and besides, Dylan, his ever-so-loving girlfriend, would never approve of their friendship.

Layne laughed.

"Hey," she chirped happily, glad to have an old friend back in her life. "What are you doing in here? I thought you were scared of Hot Topic!"

Derrick chuckled.

"I am," he replied.

"But...?" she inquired.

He smirked.

"It's almost Cam's birthday and he hasn't got the new Strokes album yet, so I came to get it for him," he replied.

Layne smiled.

"I'm about to buy one of their CD's," she told him.

Just when she thought that she wasn't going to be thinking about the unknown text admirer, she thought she felt her phone vibrate and yanked it out of her front pocket violently, hoping it was another text--her heart was in her throat, yearning for one.

But her screen was blank.

She exhaled and she felt her heart drop into her stomach, burning in the acid.

What's wrong with me?

Derrick stared at her with strange eyes as her face fell.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Of course! It's just...I thought I felt my phone vibrate is all," she replied honestly.

Amusement flickered into his eyes, along with something else that had vanished as quickly as it had come, so Layne had not had the time to decipher it.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Textaholic?" Derrick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" she asked. "No, it's not like that at all."

When they had study hall together, she had told him how much it bothered her to have him, a former textaholic, checking his phone every few seconds, thinking that he felt it go off. She didn't want him to call her a hypocrite.

"Don't lie, Layne. I thought I was you're best friend!" he teased playfully. And it was true, he had been her best friend since it was him who had been there for her when she was trying to desperately to get over Dempsey and start liking someone else. But, like all the other boys, she soon tired of him.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"You know you're--" she started.

"LAYNE!" Chris shouted from the entrance of the store. "C'mon. We've got to go!"

Layne turned back to Derrick.

"Sorry, but I've got to go," she said hurriedly. "Later!"

And with one last check on her phone, she rushed out of the store, leaving the young Derrick Harrington staring after her.

-*-*-*-

HELLO, MY NAME IS:

Layne Abeley

AND I'M A:

textaholic .

-*-*-*-