55A/N: Welcome, welcome, welcome! This is my fourth novel (of sorts), "Friends With Enemies"! This is my first story based on one that I have already completed. It's a prequel to my third novel, "How to Catch a Killer". If you haven't read it, you may be a little confused. You can still read this, though I suggest reading "How to Catch a Killer" first, just so you're familiar with the characters. Unlike my past novels, though, this one will not be very long. It's just something I decided to write so my readers would have a better time understanding the relationship Aubrey and Brett had before their friendship formed. And, I'll admit; I liked the idea of writing a story about how much they hated each other before Dave came into the picture.
Like my other novels, this will switch POVs depending on the chapter. It will only switch between Aubrey and Brett, though.
For those of you who reviewed "How to Catch a Killer" during my last update, I would like to give you shout-outs. You deserve it, especially for the amount of time you stuck with me over the past few years!
NovemberRose1: Welcome back! :] I'm glad you hate Dave. I'd be a little concerned for those people who loved him! Hahaha! And I'm sorry for making you cry! I thought I was the only one who would get teary-eyed over his problems. I'm so glad you're getting into it, though. That means I'm doing a good job! As for Brett, you'll notice in future chapters how he's feeling. He didn't get all of his past memories back, but he doesn't have any more damage than he did for the majority of the novel. His short-term-memory loss is still present. I hope you enjoy(ed) the rest of the novel! Thanks for reviewing! :]
thenutrunningthenuthouse: It's great hearing from you again! I've been gone for quite a while, so this shout-out is going to be pretty long. Just like your reviews, I'm going to take this shout-out one step at a time! I love how you compare my characters to tasty, icing-covered desserts. xD He is a cupcake, isn't he? Hahaha! And Art was a fun character to make. He was never meant to be loved by my readers; he's that kind of character that the writer loves, but the readers can feel either way. I actually had a classmate in the past with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and he gave me a lot of the information I needed for Art's character. He was kind of a co-writer for his character. In his POV chapters, he often did have contact with Frank. It wasn't fully noticed until after the readers found out about Frank, though, because it would ruin the twist ending if I blatantly made it look like he was talking to an imaginary friend. And, yeah, I did kind of attack the exclamation point. Between you and me, I was in a hurry when I wrote that chapter because I had to get ready for a doctor's appointment to check my injured kneecap, so I bust it out and went running (er, so to speak). xD It was one of the few chapters that I didn't reread more than once. I probably will change it at some point. As for your question about Gary's last name, it's pronounced just how it looks. The only silent letter is the 'h'. It's pronounced "La-dav-een". I liked the idea of giving my villain a crazy last name, considering my past two (Spalding and Parker) were too general. Steve didn't have a tragic childhood; his tragic story stemmed once he and his brothers were older. His brothers hated each other, which happens with some siblings, and all was well until Eve's dad kicked some ass in that bar. Tim and Gary had the messed up childhoods. Gary just chose to flip out and kill everyone that looked at him, whereas Tim stayed quiet and only killed three people up until the climax of the novel. Needless to say, Gary was the nastiest villain I had in terms of their actions. You and I know how important it is to make sure our villains are different! :]
Live4Lolz: Yay! You're back! I don't think I've ever left a review via my phone. I can't remember! xD I'm so thrilled that you liked the Creekside Killer twist. I didn't know how that would play out when I first thought of it, so I was hoping everyone would enjoy it the way I did. I didn't have as much time as I was hoping to write that specific chapter, either, so I'm glad you liked it. I'm not surprised that you thought of the whole "Tim in jail" scene from FMBYG during Gary's jail scene. I actually loosely based the scene on my past one from FMBYG. Oh, and my Father's Day was pretty good! I worked all day, naturally. I hope yours was great as well! As for Holly, you know by now that she was dead. I wouldn't have let her live in that situation because, like you said, that's unrealistic. I played with the idea of letting her live vs. letting her die during the writing process, but letting her live wouldn't have worked with Helena floating around. I feel great knowing that I could kick the crap out of everyone and you'd still be one of my most loyal readers! I feel so honored! xD I love how angry you were when Art and Helena didn't kiss right away. I love making people wait! And I do travel a lot; I didn't forget your question about the rest stop! Going to my epilepsy doctor usually leads to us stopping at a rest stop, so I know more about them than other people usually do. How did you like the kissing scenes? I purposefully waited until the end to make them kiss, because I thought it would be a cool idea. Come to think of it, this is my first novel where the protagonists kissed for the first time at the very end of the novel. That, and it's also my first novel where all of the good guys lived. Well…all of the well-known good guys. The only important character to die in this novel was Xavier. I'm so glad you liked it! I'm here to serve, after all. :] I hope you continue to read all of my work. Thanks again for your support!
Guest: Thank you so much! You're so sweet! ^_^ I hope you enjoy my other work as well.
Pamzdee: I'm not sure if you left the last review (the one labeled 'Guest'), but just in case you didn't, I'm going to give you a separate review! Thank you so much for all your kind words. I appreciate it so much! If you happen to read my other novels, I hope you enjoy them just as much as you enjoyed "How to Catch a Killer"! My work is dedicated to all of the wonderful people who take the time to read my work and talk to me. I also want to thank you for your kind wishes for my marriage. That means so much to me! I actually met my fiancée while I was writing my first novel about seven years ago. He read your review while sitting next to me and wanted to thank you as well. And I'm glad your interest in Spanish classes can be blamed on me! xD That's what I was aiming for! Hahaha! Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy all of my future work as well! :]
Guest (2): Once again, if you were the same 'Guest' that reviewed "How to Catch a Killer", I apologize. It's hard to tell when it comes to anonymous reviews! If you're the same reviewer, I hope you enjoy two separate shout-outs! xD Hahaha! Thank you for your review on "I'm in Love With a Professional Heartbreaker"! I'm glad you like it so far! And I'm glad you like Eve's hairstyle. I personally liked her hair as well. I thought it would be a cute idea. Thanks again for your review!
That's it for now! Any additional reviews and such will be mentioned at the beginning of these chapters. Enjoy! :]
_ Chapter 1: A Reality Check
~Aubrey's POV~
"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love."
― Mahatma Gandhi
Sometimes, life doesn't make sense. Sometimes, you wonder if reality really is real. While your day progresses and you're stuck in traffic or working, people just like you are curled up under their covers, enjoying the false hope their dreams give them. In reality, I was a fifteen-year-old girl with more enemies than friends; in my dreams, I was a movie star with more fans than I knew what to do with.
Why couldn't we just live in our dreams?
I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled. The beeping in the room was becoming one big blur. One machine would beep, followed by another one. Beep, beep, beep…it wouldn't stop.
Would one machine stop beeping soon? Would that beeping turn into one long, continuous, drawn-out sound? The sound wouldn't stop. Maybe that would be better, though.
I rested my head against the bed, right where his legs were. Maybe it would be better. After all…the doctors constantly bring it up to Marilynn and his parents. Pull the plug, they said. He wasn't making any progress.
Didn't they have any compassion? They didn't have hearts.
I sighed and turned my head so I was properly facing him. "You know, Zarzetta…I'm worried about you. Talk about strange, huh? Why would I be worried about someone like you?"
He didn't respond. He didn't do anything.
Why did this make me so miserable?
The machines were attached to various places on his body. Some of the machines were beeping constantly, while others stayed silent or ticked like the clock on the wall. One of the more threatening-looking machines had tubes that were attached to his face and neck. One of the tubes was connected to his nose, while the other was connected to his windpipe through his neck. It was unnerving.
The machines aside, he looked terrible. I was so used to seeing him smirking at me in his usual douche bag fashion. But now? Now he was laying here, no expression discernible on his face. He looked…he looked…
Dead.
I bit down on my lower lip in an attempt to stop any tears from falling. This wasn't normal for someone in my situation. When your worst enemy, your least favorite person on Earth, gets hit by a car, you shouldn't be this upset. You should laugh and think "they deserved it". At least, that's what I told myself I would think if Brett Zarzetta was ever in an accident like this. He was a jerk, an idiot, and a waste of space. But…
Would someone that horrible do what he did? This "waste of space" was in the hospital right now for a reason unlike any I would have ever expected from him. Was that why I was so upset?
I smiled against his sheets and closed my eyes again. "This doesn't make sense, Zarzetta. Why would you do that? You had no reason to do it. Did you do it to make a point? Or maybe…you aren't such a jerk after all. Don't leave me hanging like this. I want to know."
I traced the outline of his kneecaps against the sheets covering them. This really did feel unrealistic.
It was hard to believe that, just a week and a half ago, we were wishing death upon one another. It was funny how something like this could change my whole perspective on him.
Brett Zarzetta wasn't such a bad guy after all.
A/N: This, like "How to Catch a Killer" itself, has a short first chapter. I actually wrote a separate chapter at first, but I didn't like how it played out. I thought it would be a cooler idea writing a hospital scene instead. Let me know what you think! :]