A dingy street in Amsterdam.

"It's my choice, isn't it?" Serenity said, turning her head defiantly. "Let's talk about something else."

"No. Enough. You're getting out of there and that's that." Charlie sounded quite adamant about this, even if his voice was warbling around like Eric Kire. Wait... who?

"Leave me alone, Chuck. It's Christmas and you're bothering me." Serenity said, starting to walk off.

Charlie stood there, watching her walk away. This had gone on long enough. It was blatantly obvious that Angel no longer cared about her. Olivia hadn't responded in weeks. Serenity was truly alone, wasn't she? Aside from himself, that is. It would seem that he would have to take matters into his own hands. So be it. The consequences no longer mattered.

So be it.

"Happy Christmas!" Serenity called, going into her apartments and slamming the door.

"Happy Christmas to you too!" He seemed to have regained his voice. With a new spring in his step, he turned and walked back to his own humble abode.

Inside, Serenity just kept whistling, swinging her feet and trying very hard to think of the happy children.

Olivia appeared outside of Serenity's door. "Ser!" She kicked it instead of knocking normally, seeing as her hands were full. "Open up!"

Serenity ran down and opened the door. "OLIVIA!" She screamed in delight. "What about your school? OLIVIA!"

"I'm so sorry!" She plowed into Serenity's arms, dropping her purse and her sleeping bag. "They started up the anti-apparation charm thingy, and my mom's been watching me like a hawk! Are you alright?"

"Um..." Serenity decided not to say anything about her state of mind. "I'm totally fine. I'm doing great. I'm really glad you came, though. Are we.. leaving?"

"The problem is that I don't really have anywhere to go. They'll be expecting me at the island, you know."

"Why are you running away?! I'm not staying here any longer!" And Serenity was screaming. "I've been here all year! You FORGOT about me, left me here. TAKE ME HOME."

"You've been here for four months! And what the hell would make you think I forgot!? I've been writing this whole time, and it's not my fault I couldn't leave!"

"Four months, a year, it feels like forever. This place is dingy. This place is a total mess. What is your problem? Why don't you want to go back? Oh, God. You're packed? Why the hell are you packed?"

"Well, I sort of wanted to stay here... Not as a whore, of course not! I just sort of want to... you know, I like it here. It has this weird charm to it, in a way." She slowly got down and picked up her things she'd dropped. "And it's got to be more exciting than school, right?"

"No!" Serenity shook her head violently. "You have absolutely no clue. All I want to do is leave. I--" She breathed in and out before talking again. "It's horrible here. Can I please apparate to your house? Is there a spell there? I don't know where to go. I'm not good at it."

Saying 'that surprises me' would probably have been inappropriate in that situation, so she didn't. "You can, I really want to just stay here for a while. With Chuck, you know? We haven't hung out in like... forever."

"Pay for my stuff, I can't afford anything, and I'll stay. But no more sex. Please don't make me."

"Of course not! In fact, just go quit. Right now. You walk up to that bastard who got you into this and give him a good kick in the nuts. We'll go straight to Gringotts tomorrow!" She meandered over to a clear spot on the floor and unrolled her sleeping bag.

"He'll bring a customer later tonight, I'll quit then. There's a spare bed upstairs, if you want it. Dusty. Cockroaches."

She blinked. "I'd rather not... and you know, if you were gonna have another... err..."

"What? Oh, I might as well get some more money before I quit. Don't worry. I'm used to it, and you won't be able to hear."

"Well, just call me if you need him killed or something. Y'know... uh, night." She disappeared into the sleeping bag.

"Good night!" Serenity said, and stood near the door, just waiting.