Collab with @Knight of Doom and @BlueAjah

Giggles echoed throughout the air as two small girls sat beside each other within the playground’s sandbox. Claire couldn’t help but smile as she watched them create pathetic sandcastles with plastic shovels and buckets. Both of their dark hair was decorated in adorable braids and she was almost sure the two were sisters. A faint smile spread across her lips. Growing up as an only child, Claire had always thought about how life would be like with a sister. Someone she could have played with or talked to every night. It would have been fun, she supposed. Then again, that would have meant less attention from her parents and Claire wasn’t sure she could handle that.

A soft noise vibrated from Claire’s pocket. Riley had sent her a text, stating he would be there in 15 minutes. Claire smiled again and stopped within the middle of the path.

To Riley:
Can’t Wait! <3

A girl dressed in an extremely attractive workout getup passed Claire as she texted Riley. Something about the girl seemed oddly familiar yet she knew they had never met. Shrugging, Claire continued jogging.

As Tara did interval training around the park, her path eventually was in sync with the petite blonde she saw earlier.

Claire looked toward the girl running beside her with curiosity. She seemed fairly healthy and fit, enough to rock a sports bra and look good that is. The girl's eyes however, were a bright red color and Claire couldn’t help but stare at them. Distracted, Claire didn’t have time to stop herself before her foot tripped over a small rock on the ground. A cry of pain escaped her mouth as she fell, scraping her right knee. Way to go… She silently cursed as she pulled up her sweat pants, examining the bloody mark. She gasped at the pain, biting her tongue to stop herself from screaming. A few tear droplets fell down her face as she tried her best to breathe.

Slowing to a stop, Tara looked behind her at the bleeding girl. Sighing she knelt down next to her. “You okay?” She asked, examining the wound. It wasn't too bad, if it had been her with wound, she would have just walked it off without even bothering to take care of it. However, not everyone was her.

Looking up into the bright eyes of the girl she was almost sure was Tara, the best friend of her boyfriend, Claire nodded slightly. The wound needed to be treated before it got infected in any way. She shuddered at the thought of getting sick from such a clumsy mistake. “I’ll be fine, I just need to get to my car. Thank you though, Tara.” Claire hoped she wasn’t wrong. Riley had talked often about his best friend and her glowing red eyes. Wobbling to her feet, Claire began limping back to her car.

Tara was a bit stunned at the mention of her name. Had she introduced herself? Or perhaps she was just that popular. Preferring the latter option, the confused female watched the mystery girl hobble away to her car. If she decided she would handle it on her own, so be it. Shrugging, Tara pushed her ear buds back into her ears and went back to her run.

It was about 2:15 when Ami returned, asking for the key, barely restraining her impatience. Anthony nodded, and smiled at the girl. "Sure, just remember to let me in when I come back! It'll probably be around midnight or so, sorry if I wake you up!" With that, he went back to work stacking the shelves. Eventually, Ms. O'Niel approached him, apologetic look on her face.

"Um... Anthony, there's... something Mrs. Grady and I would like you to do in the back room." Anthony, smiling, set down the books on the cart, and turned to her.

"Why of course, Ms. O'Niel! I'd be happy to help!" Leaving the book cart behind, he followed Ms. O'Niel, making light conversation. They chatted all the way there, but when they reached the room, Ms. O'Niel got quiet, and acted uncharacteristically nervous.

"Hey, I don't want to presume, or anything, but... Inside, there's a really, really heavy box that neither Mrs. Grady or I could budge. Could you move it out of the way, please?" The look on Ms. O'Niel's face was so pitiful, so morose that she couldn't do it herself, that Anthony had to do help her out, even if he wasn't going to already.

Laughing, Anthony patted her on the shoulder, and passed her, entering the back room. The room everyone called the 'back room' was actually the library's archives, with a fairly high ceiling, and with stacks of cardboard boxes, manila folders, newspaper clippings, VCR tapes, journals, and other firsthand accounts. In the back of the room, in a dusty corner, a heavy wooden steamer trunk, banded in metal, not locked, but secured against flopping open at any old time.

Moving over to the box, he smiled at Mrs. Grady, and rolled up his sleeves, and picked it up, grunting after he found out it weighed much more than expected. Walking over to where the librarians had wanted him to move it to, a sorting room, with white collapsible tables that had various other documents awaiting categorization. Setting it on a table, he unlocked the latch, and flipped the lid open. Inside, were a whole bunch of dusty papers, photos, and thick, metal-bound books. Cracking his knuckles, he waved the librarians over, and they got to work.

---

"Have a good day, Ms. O'Niel, Mrs. Grady!" Anthony waved at the two librarians as he left via the front door. Organizing the trunk's contents had taken quite a bit longer than expected, although there was more than enough time to get ready for his date tonight. Walking out to his Crown Vic, he unlocked the door, and got into the car, backing out of the parking space.

Maybe he would take the scenic route today, he decided. After all, it was a nice day, and there wasn't any reason not to. Acting on his whim, he turned right instead of going straight, and headed through the good looking, scenic neighborhoods around the church.

As he drove around with a general direction in mind, meandering for no particular purpose, he spotted something. Rather, someone, Elliot from the diner this morning. And... he had a... dog? Oh well, couldn't hurt to offer him a ride to wherever he was going.

Pulling up alongside him, Anthony rolled down the window. "Need a lift? Your dog can go in the backseat, if you like." Anthony didn't mind if the dog sat there, mangy as it is. His car was spotless, inside and out, so any mess the dog made could be cleaned up easily.

@Snagglepuss89

@Saint Girralo@Emma@BilboTheGreat@The Muse@Viciousmarrow

When James talked, Riley's eyes rolled upward and drool trailed out of his mouth and down to his chin. The male twin had no patience for long excerpts and lectures. Sophi just needed a simple, short second opinion, but of course, James was the scholar of the family.

The Angel tradition was dead. Like their parents.

Keeping his thoughts to himself, Riley closed his mouth, and wiped the drool going down his face, "Ah, James, you're right. You should be in charge of firing people, but when are you ever in when it matters?" There was a lot the eighteen year old kept pent up, especially when it came to his opinion on some of the actions of his older siblings. They may not want to admit it but neither Sophi nor James were fully capable of handling this hell that abruptly fell on all of them. Obviously, 'responsibility' made people forget what was most important.

"Give me a fucking break."

Clenching his fist, Riley stared passed his brother and to the picture of their parents.

"Mom...dad... you must be 'so' proud." He thought sarcastically. Unfortunately, the majority of the human race was selfish, the Reese children being the prime example. Riley knew for damn sure he was, one reason being he was terrible at sharing his issues with anyone. Why was it so hard to keep the house standing?

"Fuck, it's getting hot in here." The light blaring made a single sweat drop trail down his forehead. Curious, the twin went into his right pocket and glimpsed at his phone. CLAIRE COULDN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM. He needed to get away from his family.

But damn, homework...

Online homework. See Claire. Online homework. See Claire.

Was this even a question? He had to deal with his family on a daily basis. His online courses were the least of his worries. After this morning, he deserved free time. His LARP group probably thought their perverted leader disappeared from the face of Earth because of how little they saw him anymore.

Whistling, Riley stretched and slowly walked passed Olivia and James, "Man, I'm thirsty. I'm gonna go get a drink. Keep talking James, you're doing what you do best."

Walking to the kitchen, Rye made his way to the fridge. Open. Close.

The noise could be heard in the living room. Swiftly, he moonwalked to the window above the sink and brought the latch of the window down, and slid the glass screen to the left. The breeze outside felt nice. Climbing the counter, Riley slipped out the window and dropped down to the ground with a *thump*. One step closer to Claire!

Eyes widened, he checked his left pocket, "Oh don't tell me I don't... Relief fell over him, as he felt the bump of his small digital camera. Okay, that's good.

A smaller camera was always better to have on person when he was out with a girl. Subtle, you know?

"Claire, here I come~"

With that, the twin took off into the woods which would eventually lead to the park. Full speed ahead!

"Hi treehouse, bye treehouse!" Sure, the man wasn't in any sort of gym clothes, but his lady was waiting for him and hell-- he worked out in anything. Reaching the end of the trail, the twin drew closer to the opening and the sound of his running footsteps on dirt changed to the sound of his loud steps on the parking lot cement. Zooming in between cars, Rye soared in the air, sliding across the front of someone's car. The alarm resounded throughout the lot. Oops.

Not realizing at the moment, Rye ran passed Claire's car, with Claire in it... having assumed she was already running and heading toward the greenhouse. He lifted himself above the half wall between the lot and the park, doing a roll on the ground for the hell of it. After getting back to his feet, the eager boyfriend picked up his speed.

A quarter way into the park, the twin brought his momentum down to a complete halt, as he realized... Claire...was in the parking lot. SHIT.

Turning back like the active puppy he was, he ran back toward the parking lot.

"Man, I hope she has water."

Five minutes later, reaching the half wall once more, Riley collapsed on it. Looking up at his blonde lady in her sexy exercise wear, the flamed hair male playfully waved with a cheesy grin on his face, "Hey there, Beautiful."

@BlueAjah

Luckily the pink haired girl hadn’t thought Blake was a complete idiot, or at least she didn’t show it through her flawless handwriting. She had been nothing but friendly from the start, something that made Blake wonder whether or not it was genuine. What did she want from him? Throughout class they exchanged the note with each other, somehow missed by their teacher’s radar (or ignored, more likely.) Blake had learned that her name was Eliza, what classes she took, what she liked to do in her free time, and they shared thoughts of what they really felt about having to attend this class before it was over. When the bell rang, Eliza was swept away by a large group of friends almost immediately. She had said a brief goodbye to him, and he had raised a hand to wave goodbye, but she was gone with the wind before he could get a single word out.

Eliza was an interesting one. Part of the “in” crowd and yet nice to someone like him for no immediately obvious reason? Blake was unsure of her and her intentions, but she had peaked his interest. Perhaps stumbling into her desk hadn’t been such an awful thing to happen after all.

Stuffing the note in his backpack before leaving to his next class, he silently vowed to himself to shred it once he got home. He didn’t need any random person reading his conversations… even if they were meaningless.

---

“See ya tomorrow man!”

Blake glanced over his shoulder to his small group of friends and waved, “See ya!” He half smiled as he turned back around and exited the school doors. School had been tedious, as usual, and he was glad to be done with it. The walk back to home was usually his favorite part of the day. Most of his friends took the bus or didn’t walk in the direction he did, so he usually walked alone. It was peaceful.

He was prepared to start his mind-clearing twenty minute walk back home, but just as he exited the doors his eyes immediately focused on the blaring red Jaguar. Chris. Without hesitation Blake hurried down the school’s steps and slid into the passenger seat.

“Hey Chris!” He greeted, setting his backpack down at his feet. His older brother was probably the only person Blake was ever truly happy to see these days. It was nice having him back from Dartmouth, even if their parents were slightly disappointed. They tried not to make it obvious, but if Blake could tell then Chris was definitely aware. “Taking the day off?” He asked as he buckled his seat belt and settled into the nice leather seats.

_@Emma

The walk back to his apartment was growing more painful the longer it went on, and Elliot was about ready to find a place on the curb to sit and rest up for awhile when a vehicle pulled up beside him. Was this salvation? Was there truly a benevolent God above? He turned, expecting to see an old friend from back before he left town, but instead he was surprised to find...

... Whatshisname from the diner earlier. Sure, the man had shot him a dirty look or two while Sophi was making a scene, but he still helped Elliot steady himself, and now...

"Need a lift? Your dog can go in the backseat, if you like."

... Whatshisname seemed to be offering him a ride as well. Was he an angel sent from heaven? Elliot wouldn't have cared if he were Satan at that particular moment. Still, he hesitated, glancing down at the dog beside him. Sure, it seemed docile enough so far, but who knew if it would start ripping up the man's upholstery the second they got in the car. The dog cocked it's head as if to answer him, and Elliot shrugged in return. Instead he turned his attention to Whatshisname with a grin.

"You're sure? I really appreciate it, the leg's killing me."

He made his way over the the vehicle and opened the back seat, giving the dog a whistle and a nod towards the vehicle when it hesitated. Immediately afterwards it hopped in, dug at the floor a little and sat, eyes never leaving Elliot as he made his way over the the passenger door and climbed into the car himself, noting with admiration how nice it looked.

"You keep a clean ride! I feel a bit bad about letting the dog in here now."

Anthony smiled, waiting patiently. The man had a cane, it would take time. Drumming on the wheel with his fingertips, he unlocked the doors for the guy and his dog. Rolling the window back up, he replied, "Of course! It's no trouble at all."

Anthony didn't know why he was helping the guy, after what he had done to Sophi. Now that he thought about it, he didn't even know what had happened between the two.

.... In the end, did it really even matter? Either way, if he knew or not, he would've invited him to catch a ride in his car, because it was apparent that the man, with his cane and his limp, wouldn't be able to make it wherever he was going.

Snapping out of his thoughts by the car door closing, he listened to Elliot's statement. Graciously accepting, and pulling off slowly so he would have time to buckle himself in, if he wanted, he said, "Well, I don't really like to have a messy car in general, and if I happen to have a passenger, such as yourself, I want to keep it ready."

Eyes still on the road, he gave Elliot a sideways smirk. "First off, where are you headed, and secondly, I know your name, from the... incident at the diner, but I don't think you got mine. It's Anthony, Anthony Noll." Reaching an intersection, he waited for Elliot to give him directions or continue the conversation.

Ah, Anthony... Noll. Nope, don't know him.

So the man was a stranger after all, it certainly wasn't a name he was familiar with. Thinking of the diner made his stomach twist, so he reached back to scratch the dog's ears to distract himself. He would have to deal with Sophia eventually, even if it was just to give her closure before parting ways, which judging by how things went this morning was the most likely outcome.

"Go ahead on to the west side of town, and it's good to finally catch your name. Sorry you had to see that earlier... Sophi's always been a bit of a volatile one, although maybe not so slap happy."

Elliot had always been reserved, Sophi had always been... outgoing, to say the least. She couldn't have been older than ten when they met. He wasn't that much older than her, but back then a year felt like a decade. He had been caught in a phase of childhood angst, brooding on his front porch reading Catcher in the Rye religiously. Eventually though, the neighbor girl set her sights on him.

"Hey, stop reading already and come play with me!"

"... Why? You're just a little kid."

"Becaaaaaause~!"

And then he was dragged off, manhandled by this younger girl. Of course he escaped the first chance he got, but there she was again, the next day. Interupting the contemplation of his childhood angst. It was so... unfair at the time. He wasn't athletic yet (In fact, it could be said the only reason he took up athletics was because Sophi was so fond of being fit) and he had no defense to her reckless enthusiasm.

"So, uh, Anthony. How long have you been in town now? I think we would have gone to school together if you were from around here."

Anthony nodded and followed the other man's directions. Good to know, but Sophia didn't seem.... volatile to him, rather, exuberant and energetic. But different viewpoints and all that.

Driving silently, listening to Elliot talk, he began to drift off, but was again pulled back to reality by his passenger's voice. God, what was with him today? He had been sleeping regularly, and he had taken his meds today, so what was it? "Oh, I've been in town for what, three years now? I got a scholarship in my senior year of Highschool in a little place called Bend. Only a few hours' drive from here. Anyway, I left early because things got absolutely CRAZY right after I graduated, and I decided, 'What the hell?', and came here. Got a job at the University, so it keeps the commute simple, y'know?" He didn't get into the specifics of exactly what was so crazy that caused him to leave town early, but it was a touchy subject, anyone could see.

Anthony blinked hard, and turned a corner, the streets on this side of town relatively empty this time of year. "So, that's a cute dog ya got there. Had her long?"

"Bend? I actually know someone from there. Nice woman, good cook. That town seems to breed good people."

It was true, so far he'd met two people today from Bend, and both had gone out of their way to help him. Maybe one day he'd have to visit the place. As for the dog...

Elliot turned to look at it when Anthony made his inquiry. Was the animal a she? The dog cocked it's head as he bent down for a closer look. First confused, it seemed to get the gist of what he was doing and let out a warning.

"Grrrrr..."

That alone was enough to answer his question. So, it was a she. Interesting. He supposed it needed a name, since there was no collar around her neck. When he was younger and still a dabbling playwright, names had always stumped him harder than anything else he tried to put to paper. What flowed right, what fit the character? Here though, there was no hesitation. Elizabeth. She'd been his light at the end of the tunnel these last five years, and kept him from despair. Saying goodbye to her was the hardest part of coming back to Millington for him, but without her he probably wouldn't have had the strength to make the decision in the first place.

"I really haven't had Lizzy very long, but I have a good feeling about her. You know, just one of those things."

At the sound of her name, Lizzy let out a Woof! of approval, apparently it had been a good choice.

"You work at the university though? I planned to go there once. I still need to find myself a job in town somewhere. I don't think the diner will exactly work out like I planned."

"Thank you, and for the most part, it does." While Elliot's comments about his hometown were flattering, he'd rather not dwell on... certain individuals from there. His quatrefoil tattoo began to itch, so he thought about something else.

Smiling at the mention of the dog, Anthony said, "I had always wanted a dog. Once, by uncle had a big fluffy Husky he always brought by when he visited. He had the same kind of look that Lizzy has. She's a good dog, I can tell." Anthony's memories of the Husky were vivid and bright, one of the few good memories he had of that time. Romping around the house, playing in the backyard, crying in the woods with only the dog for company.

"Well, I don't think we need another assistant in the library, but I heard that the staff in the cafe are looking for a worker. Dunno for what job, but I heard they're hiring. Maaaybe my professor needs an assistant or something. You want me to recommend you? I know quite a few people at the University... Oh! Your question! Yeah, I work in the library, but I also take classes there. I don't have any core classes anymore, so I can focus on my major, Industrial Design. It's pretty fun, designing things and making them in the Shop."

What he didn't say was that he was considering changing majors to Graphic Arts, because while he was skilled at it, making things with his hands just wasn't his passion, even though he hadn't drawn since... them.

Elliot nodded along as his companion talked about university. The offer to get a word in for a job was polite, but that was one task he'd rather do for himself. He'd already taken advantage of the kindness of others too much today. He still had some of his spoiled stubborn pride from his younger years.

"Thanks for the offer to put a word in, I'll keep that on the backburner while I look. We should be coming up on my place pretty soon here, I live at the Millcreek Hallow complex, you can drop me off anywhere outside."

They were clearly in the western side of town by now. It would've taken ages for him to reach here with his leg in the shape it was in. Five years ago he would have stubbornly refused any charity, but he had since matured past that nonsense. Idiocy like that was what cause much of his current situation to begin with. He took a second to double check that everything he got from Nana was in order, and gave a final look to Lizzy as if to say; Are you ready?

"Oh, okay. And you live here too? I was going to head here after dropping you off! What a coincidence, we're neighbors! I'm currently in room 2B." Anthony was unusually enthused by this development. Normally, he wouldn't be this excited by a random stranger he was friendly with being his neighbor, but he was.

They turned onto the road on which the Millreek Hallow complex lay, the buildings standing tall, visible from quite a bit away. There were more people moving around outside on foot, now, in the afternoon, and he slowed down for the myriad of pedestrians which came with the territory of living in an apartment complex. Turning into the parking lot, Anthony turned the car off, and unlocking all of the doors, put it into park. Stepping out of the car, he walked over to Elliot's side, casually closing the driver's side door as he did. "Well, it was nice meeting you officially, Elliot. See you around?"

Neighbors huh? Elliot hadn't given much thought to actually going to meet the people he lived by. Even after years of dealing with the Reeses next door he wasn't exactly eager to be making new acquaintances. Still, he could certainly have a worse neighbor than this, especially in this part of town. He took Anthony's hand and gave it a shake once they were out of the car, Lizzy falling into place beside him.

"The pleasure's mine. Looking forward to getting to know you better sometime."

Pain was throbbing through his leg already, so he wasted no time in making his way to the front door. A nice few hours relaxing in bed sounded like heaven right about then. Maybe he could even get some unpacking done before the end of the day.

Nah.

@The Muse@Emma@Viciousmarrow@BilboTheGreat

When Riley left the room, James decided to sum up his speech in just a few sentences. He knew Riley hated the long winded thing, but James wanted to teach that kid some patience, which was why he did this. Eventually he'll teach Riley to be patient. Good things come to those who are patient, and then he thought, God I hope that's true. "So long story short, Sophi, I'll look over the files and see if it is truly an option, but I'd rather see us hire extra hands. We have the funds open especially since we've managed to keep most of our customer base even if most of the employees up and quit. It would give us all a much needed break without cutting into our bottom line too much. But ultimately, it is up to you, Sophi, the business does belong to you." Then James hollered after Riley, unaware he slipped out the window, "And I'm always at the Diner, from right after school right until we close."

When no response comes from the kitchen and Riley doesn't come back out,James gets up again walks in. "Riley, come on it doesn't..." He stops when he notices that Riley isn't in the kitchen. God Dammit Riley. You called this meeting, and didn't even bother to stay till the end. As James returned to the living room, he flat out said, "He's gone. Sophi, I guess it's up to you to decide if we're done here. I mean is there anything else anyone can think of? He sighed, sitting back down. "If not, I'd like to go talk to the neighbor, thank him for being lenient this time as well as apologise and welcome him to the neighbourhood. Maybe turn his opinions of us around." There was a measure of disappointment on the edge of his voice,

I know we aren't perfect, but we're better than this... Aren't we? he asked himself, concerned that he didn't even know his own family. He ran his hand through his hair lightly, pleased by how long his hair was getting, and it at the same time reminded him how little they knew about him. It was something that had always scared James since the very second he figured out what it was causing his depression. He told his parents in private and they accepted it and supported him. But would they accept the real him... No! Stop that! It is so unbelievably unhealthy. They'll come to understand and accept who you are, eventually. It'll hurt too much to let go of you, and I bet they'll sooner accept you, than push you away. Especially given the timing. It was too late though, a slight measure of light had left his eyes, he had gone and brought himself down into another wave of depression, shallower than last time, but it still brought with it, the familiar dull ache in his chest. He'd still make good on meeting with Nathan and heading next door to apologise and say hi to the new neighbor, but it wasn't going to have the same heart to it. There was still going to be the pain. "And you're going to push through it like always

Miyasaki Ami--

Ami awoke from her sleep, staring up at the sky and slowly getting up as she shoving her blanket back inside of her duffle bag. She could feel the eyes of a pervert on her but continued to walk slowly, widening her eyes in order to improve her own mood.

Soon, she headed over to the bus stop, it was time for her to head over to her new apartment. The bus ride was comfortable but there was a couple silently quarreling near the back, assuming that they were being subtle. She didn’t have time to be listening to this nonsense. Any other time of the day and she would have gladly tried to lift their mood as well as the rest of the passengers who were obviously disturbed but she was not in the mood.

Once the ride was over, Ami stood up and quickly grabbed her bag, dragging her feet on sidewalk. Once she got to the apartment, she scrambled through her bag in search for the keys that Anthony had given her, finding it after 3 minutes. She sighed, stepping inside of the apartment. “I’m home.” she said cheerfully, not expecting anyone to respond but simply trying to make herself feel more welcome in the place.

Stepping into her room, she put her stuff down and sat on the bed. After a while, she noticed that tears were falling down her eyes now. “O-oh no… What are you doing?” chuckling as she wiped the disgusting tears off of her as fast as she could. She was doing horrible so far. It had been the first time she cried but she did last around 4 weeks. Stressed, confused, tired. Homes were meant to hide things. Hide secrets. That's why I don't want a home. I have secrets that I don't want to share. But I also don't want to acknowledge that I have them.

-flashback-
“Daddy! Daddy!! Look!! I found this upstairs in the basement!!!” Ami was showing her father a glass sculpture that was covered in dust and shaped as an adorable deer. It was a bad time. Her mother was in her bed but she didn’t looked fine. She was bleeding, no clothes on as she whimpered. Ami’s smile turned into a look of horror as she turned back to her father. No, it was a demon. “M-Mommy!! D-Daddy, mommy isn’t fine… MOMMY ISN’T FINE!!”

Her father turned his head towards her, slowly as he walked over to her, grabbing the glass sculpture in one hand and Ami’s throat in the other. [b]”Does it look like I give a fuck?![b] With that, he threw her onto the ground and Ami began to bawl, not understanding why he was doing this. Ami ran towards him, grabbing his leg and begging him to stop hitting mother. Her father looked down at her, a look of disgust that had Ami froze, gulping down her saliva as tears filled her mouth. He began hitting her. As if he was replacing her mother with Ami as mother scrambled away, disappearing for the night. After a while, Ami’s eyes narrowed. Her once lively eyes were...dead. Tears were gone and her lips formed a small smile as she loosened her grip on the arms that were covering her head as if there was an earthquake. Ehehe, might as well get used to this.

-end of flashback-

Ahahaha, that’s right… I’m disgusting. She smiled as she looked up at the ceiling. She hadn’t turned on the lights and the small windows had the blinds closed. Barely any light filling the room. Ami scratched at her wrist until blood formed, pouring down her arm. She watched it drop onto her dress, making sure that she didn’t ruin the bed. tasting the disgusting saltwater tears as they fell. Disgusting. One of her favorite words that was almost always aimed at herself.

---

After a while, she stood up and headed into the shower room with an extra outfit and a clean towel. Stripping herself of her shirt and pants and looking at herself in the mirror as she set down her necessities. All she saw was a girl. A girl that enjoyed pain. A masochist. pleasure in being abused or dominated : a taste for suffering. Was that it? She deserved it. She needed to be punished because… “You weren’t even supposed to be born you fucking bastard!” The screams were echoing through her mind now. The voices of her parents. The voices of the girls that had bullied her. No. No. Ami shook her head, grabbing her ears and looking at the mirror. “I’m happy. I’m happy. I’m happy. I had a good childhood.” Filling herself with delusions as she quickly ran out of the bathroom and back into her room. Soon, she had her pills in one hand and a half full water bottle in the other. Shoving 5 pills into her mouth, far more than the prescripted amount. “I’m happy…” her voice was now shaking, the pills now most likely inside of her bloodstream.

Let me be happy… Please?

“No.”

-

She had taken the shower. After at least an hour of running hot water on herself and her back was now red. However, it was a cold day so she could simply cover it with a shirt or a sweater. She stepped out of the shower drenched as her wet hair sent shivers down her spine. It was about time for her to get going.

Looking into the mirror, Ami smiled brightly. You’re alright, aren’t you! Almost demanding herself to agree as she smacked her cheeks and stepped into a pair of black sweats. They were extremely plain and she was thinking of maybe going to get a workout. Of course, her eyes had severe bags under them and were red, glistening from still being teary. Ami sighed, placing her bra on as well as a crop top.

They were obviously meant for someone with a smaller chest but it was simply meant for her to wear when she was alone. The fabric was wonderful and made her feel devine. A cute pairing with the plain black sweats. She would later put on a new tank top and add her jacket to it when she went out. Her wrists were still bleeding a bit and the scarring was much worse. TRASH was the worst which was accompanied by many other scars made by herself her father.

Hopefully no one was coming home right now because the way it was looking. It didn’t look good. She didn’t really wear make up and wondered why people still complimented but for sure today would be the day she would need concealer. Hopefully she had some. Cleaning up the bathroom and removing all of her things so that they didn’t come home to see that she had taken over. Ami sighed, she honestly looked like the dead at the moment. Her wet hair was still dripping onto her crop top due to the fact that she preferred to let it air dry. I guess i’ll just clean up… She searched for anything to clean and got to work. Finishing up a lot. I think I can get changed before they get back… Hopefully. With that, she continued to clean and disregarded the pain that she had inflicted onto herself.
[/hider]

The trek back to car was relatively long for one with a limp leg. Part of her was a little disappointed that the red eyed girl hadn’t come after her. Weren’t people supposed to follow those in pain? She shrugged. It was only her need for attention causing such a vulgar feeling to come forth. Part of her hated that she required so much attention but she couldn’t deny the feeling of belonging and being wanted whenever the spotlight shined on her.

As she arrived at her car, Claire began rummaging through the glove compartment to find her first aid kit. When she has gotten her first car, her parents made sure it always had a well stocked one. The lesson had carried on. Despite their troubles, the two always knew how to look after Claire. It was cute, really. She quickly cleaned the wound with a disinfected wipe, spread neosporin, and finished by covering it with a bandaid.

A handsome voice woke Claire from her concentration and she looked up to find her boyfriend. He looked completely exhausted, sweating more than Claire and she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hey handsome. Everything okay?” She reached for her bag and tossed him a water bottle.

Squatting beside him, she placed a quick peck on his lips. “I missed you.” It had seemed forever since they had last talked, although it had only been less than 15 minutes ago.


“I’m sorry for making you come all the way down here but I fear our exercise plans will have to be canceled.” Claire motioned to her knee with the new bandage covering her wound. "Although it looks like you already had quite the workout."

@lovely complex

_{Collab with @The Muse}

As usual, James went on a rant about the logical thinking that needed to be done before any rash decisions were to be made. How was he always so… left brained? Nonetheless, it would still be Sophia’s decision whether or not James agreed with her or not. She wasn’t forcing any of them to work there and they could leave as they pleased, but this was the way it had always been. Change could be so difficult and things had been changing so rapidly the last few months…

Before today, Sophia would have laughed in someone’s face if they told her that her ex-best friend would suddenly return and her three little sisters would have been smoking pot and ditching school for the mall. “Life works in mysterious ways…” She was lost in thought as James droned on and Riley disappeared from the living room. Her eyes stared at the hardwood floor, “I should find Elliot… apologize…” Her heart beat faster at the very thought and she nervously bit her lower lip. Elliot had hurt her very deeply, but that was no excuse for slapping him. At least that’s what she could imagine her mother telling her.

"He's gone. Sophi, I guess it's up to you to decide if we're done here. I mean is there anything else anyone can think of?”

Sophia’s thoughts broke and she looked up from the floor, glancing around the room full of her siblings minus Riley. The two spots missing their parents took a stab at her heart. “Of course Riley would leave…” Her eyes found Olivia and Zoey, who had been extremely quiet during the entire “family meeting.” She wondered if they were disappointed in themselves, or perhaps just zoning out on the conversation all together? She frowned and stared at them a moment before turning her cool gaze on Kylie. “From here on out, Kylie, you are not allowed to take them out of school without my knowledge. I’ll be changing the approved people to pull them out of class tomorrow morning.” She moved her eyes back to Zoey and Olivia, “I expect your homework to be done by the time I get home tonight.” Suddenly Sophia felt exactly like their mother, nagging them about homework. God, how she use to hate when her mother would ask about it twenty times over. Now, it would have been nice to hear it just one more time. “Oh,” She paused, the dismayed motherly look quickly melting into an excited grin. She was herself again. “I have a date tonight! At 7. I should be home a few hours after that, so dinner will be up to yourselves tonight.”

Standing up, Sophia clapped her hands together. “Meeting adjourned!” She smiled as she turned to Kylie, grabbing her hand and forcefully pulling her up from the couch and onto her feet. “You, miss delinquent, are going for a run with me. I skipped the gym today, so it’ll have to do before my date. And we all know you need to get out more. ” This was part of Sophia’s never ending battle to get her sister active, even if Kylie usually hated most of it. Kylie was going to end up being 300 pounds if Sophia let her! If half the people she knew could see the way Kylie ate on a daily basis, they would have understood Sophia’s relentlessness. “Get dressed, I’ll be waiting outside.” With a new bounce in her step, Sophia left the living room and bounded upstairs to change into her running clothes.

Great. Just great. Not only had her immature brother fled the premises, probably to be with his hussy of a girlfriend, Sophi was barring her from checking her younger siblings from class and forcing her to go on a jog. Physical activity was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

”Look, I’m fine with not being able to sign them out of class, especially since one of them really wants me to end up in prison. You know, the ungrateful one. But making me go outside? That’s overdoing it, Sophi.” Kylie protested. Unfortunately, her sister had already bounded upstairs. Cringing, she quickly shot a nasty look at Olivia. Kylie was doubtful to forget her little sister’s treachery for a while. At least Zoey had been cool about the whole situation.

”Well, James, I really hope you don’t end up behind bars by the time we get back. Keep both eyes on that little snitch there.” she warned her brother before she followed her eldest sibling upstairs. Without much of a warning, she barged into Sophia’s room, who just so happened to be in the midst of changing. Kylie was hardly phased by the sight though. ”What do you wear for jogging? Also nice ass, sis. I’m sure the guys compliment it all the time.” the twin asked while crudely teasing her sister’s physique.

“KYLIE!” Sophia screamed and held her black and blue yoga pants up, trying to cover her lower body with them. She instantly sat down on the edge of her bed as some kind of futile attempt to curl up away from her sister’s view. Her face reddened, “What is wrong with you?!” She glared, unamused by Kylie’s “compliment.” She did get quite a few compliments on her ass, but that was beside the point.

As quickly as possible, Sophia squeezed into her pants and then stood up, adjusting her light blue tank top she already had on. “God, you’re incessant.” She walked over to her dresser and opened up a drawer filled with an array of workout clothes. “Just pick something…” Sitting back down on her bed, she waited and began putting on her running shoes.

Honestly, Sophia should have expected this from Kylie. They had shared a room together for years and Kylie had always been one to ignore privacy. It apparently didn’t exist unless she needed it. Yet again Sophia came to realize how spoiled she had been while living off in a dorm for a few years. Perhaps it was time to get her own apartment… or a really, really big lock on her bedroom door.

Kylie gave Sophia a look that bled confusion. ”Seriously? We’re sisters. It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before, jeez.” she stated before rolling her eyes and striding over to her sibling’s oh so fancy collection of workout clothes. Flipping through each article of clothing, a snicker or a sound of disgust would escape Kylie’s lips. All of this crap was hideous. ”Holy shit, Sophi, you actually wear this? This is terrible. We really need to get you a new wardrobe.” the redhead commented, laughing to herself. Maybe one day, she’d convince her sister to let her buy her clothes. Ultimately, Kylie settled with just a bland set of light blue yoga pants and a top to match.

Without so much of a thought, she undressed in front of her sister. ”See? I’m not ashamed of revealing my body. Just relax around me. I’m not a rapist or some shit.” Kylie expressed to her sister, posing naked in a silly fashion before cackling.

Sophia clicked her tongue, “Tsk.. I can tell by looking at your twitter feed…” She smirked and pulled her hair back into a long ponytail.

Rolling her eyes and smirking playfully, Kylie proclaimed loudly ”THAT sounds like jealousy!” It was kind of nice having Sophia around again. Although they absolutely couldn’t stand each other at times, it was nice to have someone to tease and poke fun at other than Riley. Pulling her stupid workout clothes on, the middle sister gestured for Sophi to get a move on. ”Okay, let’s do this, big sis. You get to watch your favorite sibling fail at life.”

---

Sophia laughed as she looked back at her sister, a few feet behind her and her face just as red as her hair. “Come on, Kylie! Pick it up, girl!” She began jogging lightly, slowing down for Kylie to catch up and taking a few sips from her water bottle. As her sister caught up, Sophia giggled again, “Didn’t you miss our work out seshes? You’ve certainly gotten out of shape while I’ve been gone. You’re lucky high metabolism runs in the family.” Being the nice sister she was, Sophia slowed to a walk to give Kylie a break just as they reached the Cherry Blossom Park. They had been running and jogging most of the way there from the house, so it was only fair to let Kylie have a breather.

Pain lanced through Kylie’s lungs and legs, and she was totally drenched in sweat. Her face bore the expression of a dying soldier, crying for release. Panting, she couldn’t believe she was doing this or that she had even gotten this far. The twin honestly felt like she should have passed out at the 5 minute mark. Inching closer and closer to Sophia, who had so kindly slowed down for her, Kylie flipped her the bird.

”You’re… a sadist… you know that?” she managed to get out in between deep breaths. Breathing heavily, she put her hands on her knees, trying to slow her heart rate. ”Can… we just walk now? Seriously, I might have to go to the ER at this pace.” Spotting her sister’s water bottle, she immediately snatched it and poured the crystal clear, icy cold liquid all over her face. An almost orgasmic moan emitted from Kylie’s mouth in response.

“Hey!” Sophia pouted as the rest of her water was wasted on Kylie’s “Flashdance” shower scene. “That’s all the water, jerk.” She muttered, playfully pouting. Crossing her arms, Sophia continued walking along the path and began scanning the park. It seemed rather quiet this afternoon, only a few people out jogging. Suddenly, her eyes caught the culprit who had escaped the family meeting… kissing someone. “Is that Riley?” Sophia gestured to the couple and glanced back at Kylie. “No wonder he left in a hurry…” Her voice trailed off as she examined the blonde Riley was kissing from afar, judging her. Who was this girl, and was she good enough for her brother?

Kylie’s eyes followed Sophia’s hand to spot her brother macking on the face of that blonde bitch, Claire. A sudden surge of anger flowed through her, but she was way too exhausted to do anything about her emotions right now. ”He’s always trying to stick his dick in something…” she explained, a visible look of disgust on her face. ”That’s all he thinks about, Sophi. You think my hobbies are sad… He’s the Lord of All Things Sad. I mean, what the fuck, he jumped out of a window to get away from us to be with that slut.”

Sophia laughed at her sister’s comment, “He’s an eighteen year old boy. They are all girl crazy…” Riley was probably a little worse than usual, as it had basically been his entire life that he had been infatuated with women… but still. “Maybe I should meet her.” Sophia stared at the two, taking her empty water bottle back from Kylie. “Let’s introduce ourselves. Maybe she’s nice.” Sophia was clearly more optimistic than Kylie. “Come on.” She gestured for Kylie to follow her as she slowly began to walk over to the two. Truly, Sophia felt like breaking up the make out session rather than actually learning anything about his new girl. The old “protective” side of Sophia kicked in, and her target was set on Claire now. “Kill ‘em with kindness…”

The redhead shrugged at Sophia’s comment about Riley’s age. ”Alright, fine, let’s go. But you’re not gonna like her. Trust me.” she informed her sister as they made their way over to the couples’ spot between the parking lot and the park. Riley was sprawled out on a half-wall, trying to be some kind of dumb macho man. Kylie let out of a resounding tch as they closed in on them.

”Oh, look how cute they are, Sophi! Aren’t they just adorable?!” Riley’s twin called out, nudging the brunette beside her. ”We didn’t expect to see your precious, little faces here. Why don’t you introduce us, my darling brother?” Kylie seemed like the sweetest girl in the world right now, a fake smile plastered onto her face as she leered at them with “kind” eyes.

_{@Emma@Saint Girralo@BlueAjah@lovely complex}

Collab with @Saint Girralo

---

James got up and walked to the front door, and turned to face his siblings who were still at the house. “I'm going out myself. Try not to burn the house down or anything.” He said, walking out the door and locking it behind him. He began to walk toward his neighbor’s house, but stopped early and pulled out his phone and checked his phone. He found a pair of texts from Nathan "Please. I'm pretty much the closest thing you got to a girlfriend, so you better treat me right. :P Let's just meet in the heart of town, in front of the mall. We'll figure it out from there," "What time?" James laughed lightly at the irony of his best friend’s text and quickly responded, ‘Lol. Okay that sounds good. I'm going to get on a bus shortly to head to the mall. See you there.’

Nathan was just about to start reading when his phone went off. ”Oh thank god.” It was a reply from James. He apparently was about to be on his way. Nathan pushed his book to the other side of his desk. ”Another assignment for another day.”

He made sure he had his wallet, his phone, and his keys before leaving the apartment. Then he walked over to the nearest bus stop and waited for the bus to arrive. He sent James a text to let him know that he was on his way too. ”Waiting for the bus. Yup see you soon!”

The bus stop by James was fortunately just past the new neighbor’s house, the police officer neighbor’s house, so instead of walking up the pathway to the front door, he kept going. He saw the bus just pulling up, and he waved halfheartedly to the driver. He recognised the man to be one of the usual drivers he saw, a pleasant middle aged man named Dave. “Well, this is unexpected. Everything okay, J?” “Yeah, Dave. The others closed early after a rough start, giving me the day off.” James replied with a sigh, dropping the fare into the collection container. “So I decided to make the most of this rare opportunity, and catch up with a friend at the mall.” He added, heading to his usual seat, about halfway to the back, next to the window.

The bus had arrived and Nathan took a seat after paying the fare. He put his ear buds in and stared out the window, almost dramatically. Not really. But it would be cool if he was like some sort of main character in a movie or something. He wasn’t really main character worthy though, unless it was some cheesy shoujo anime. He got bored of window staring and noticed a couple of cute girls were on the bus, so he gave them a smile. Some of them smiled back while others rolled their eyes. Normally he would make a move on those who positively returned his smile but he had already gotten rejected twice. His heart couldn’t handle another heartbreak. At least, not until he tried later while hanging out with James.

The bus ride wasn’t too long and Nathan soon found himself at the bus stop in front of the mall. He walked towards one of the benches by the entrance and sat down. James must be arriving any minute now.

It took very little time, as far as James was concerned, for the bus to reach the mall. As he got off the bus be waved to the driver and smiled as he noticed his friend sitting near the entrance, though the smile didn't exactly reach his eyes. He made his way to his friend with his tired looking smile on his face. He makes no effort to sneak up on his friend like he might under different circumstances, and instead just walks up to Nathan and sits next to him. “What a day, huh?” He said, looking to his friend. “So how was yours so far? Did you manage to get Ami’s number?” He poked, a hint of genuine curiosity poking through the otherwise tired expression on his face.

Nathan waved to his best friend as he approached him. ”It was not bad, not bad at all,” he replied, reflecting on his day. Sure, he got rejected twice, but he did turn in his report on time and he managed to eat lunch with Ami. Oh… right. ”Ah! I forgot to ask her for her number again!” he sighed while running his left hand through his hair. ”She lives in the same apartment complex as me though so it’s not like it’d be hard to find her again. But she lives with Axel and Anthony! A girl like that living with two guys like them! It’s insanity I tell you!”

”I got to go on a lunch date with her though.” To call it a date was an exaggeration of course, but that’s what guys did sometimes. They exaggerate, especially when it involves girls.

”You still gotta tell me about what happened to the diner.” He leaned back onto bench, making himself comfortable. It was nice enough just talking to James like this and catching up with him again. He wouldn’t mind just staying here and talking, though he wouldn’t admit that because that was pretty gay.

Oh boy, he had to ask about the diner. What a marvelous shitshow that was, and he had only heard about what had happened. James chuckled and leaned forward, shaking his head in disappointment at the memory of the earlier conversation with his siblings. “Apparently it was a magnificent disaster, and I missed it because I went to my class. Firstly, Kylie was forced to go in and actually work today. Should have reminded them to actually train her, but I didn't and things went bad quickly. Kylie must have dropped the serving tray as she brought biscuits and water out to some customers, because I heard something about her not knowing how to clean up broken glass. But wait there's more. Apparently Kylie was so incompetent today that she picked up a biscuit, that not only fell on the floor, but had fallen into the broken glass and had shards in it, and tried to serve it to customers. Then Riley told his twin to leave, which caused a whole other problem, but that's not important to the diner… and it still gets worse.” James sighed. “So shortly after Kylie left, apparently Elliot showed up, which didn't go over well with Sophi. Supposedly Sophi smacked him across the face and then went into the office. Riley and Ron were the only two working during the beginning of the breakfast rush, so Riley decided we should take a personal day, and closed the diner to prevent shit from getting worse.”

Nathan whistled, partly because he was impressed by the amount of sheer chaos the Reese family tend to be in the middle of and partly because it just felt like the only reaction to have to that. He placed an arm on James’ shoulder. “You win. Your day was infinitely more interesting. Your family never ceases to amaze me.”

”Well at least you get a day off. What do you want to do now?” he asked. “You can choose. Though I’m not going to lie, I could really go for a drink right about now.”

Drink? It's too bad he wasn't twenty one yet, he'd certainly have a few. And then his stomach growled, loudly too, reminding him he hasn't yet had an actual meal yet all day, just the few slices of bacon he grabbed on his way out the door and the peppermint that Ami gave him earlier. “Yeah, I have to agree there, but I kinda need a meal too. I haven't had anything to eat yet, and I'm starving. How bout you? You need anything besides a drink?”

Nathan nodded in agreement. ”Let’s go get dinner at the food court then,” he suggested. There were a lot of options so they wouldn’t have to go through the whole “What do you want to eat?/ No, I’m not in the mood for…” conversation. They could just get whatever they want and meet up at a table. He got up and headed towards the mall entrance. He went to the mall quite often so he knew it like the back of his hand. He quickly made his way towards the food court.

”Hm… what am I in the mood for today?” The most ancient and important question of all time.

In the end, he decided to get a philly cheesesteak sandwich with a side of fries. After he ordered he got a table and waited for his food.

James followed Nathan into the food court and walked around, trying to get a feel for what he was in the mood for. You haven't eaten all day, and it's so late that this probably will be your final meal of the day. Go ahead and have yourself a burger. He settled on exactly that. A cheeseburger with fries, and a medium Sprite. As he paid for the food, he flipped his wallet closed and walked to the table Nathan had grabbed. His stomach growled again and he hoped that dinner wouldn't take too long to cook. And then he heard off towards the fountain, “Is that a piece of lettuce floating in there?”

”Your stomach sounds like it’s digesting itself,” Nathan said as he heard his friend’s stomach growling loudly. ”Did you forget to eat all day again? He was concerned about James’ health. He didn’t get enough sleep, he didn’t eat enough, his past with depression,and the fact that his family situation was probably mentally and emotionally exhausting, didn’t make for a very safe combination.

James looked away, slightly embarrassed by his friend constantly worrying about him since his parents died in the crash. He knew his friend was right to be worried, but he would always down play how bad things were. “Yeah… I had to rush out the door for class, and then afterwards, I kinda just crashed when I got home. I really needed the extra sleep today, which is why I'm even here now.” James said to his friend. “So you even had lunch with Ami and still didn't get her number? Did you screw up that bad?” James sighed.

Nathan forgot about his worries for a second when James brought up Ami. ”Ah.. she’s a nice girl. She is a bit weird though. She was poking her head around different classrooms until she somehow found my class. And then she asked me if I wanted to eat lunch with her. I couldn’t say no of course,” Nathan explained, going into more detail of what happened earlier today. ”I think I’m getting along fine with her but we’re better off as friends. She is waaaaayyy out of my league.”

Suddenly he heard his name called from the sandwich place. ”That’s me. If your food takes a while, you can steal some of my fries.” He got up and picked up his food and then returned back to the table. After he sat down, he motioned towards his fries.

James smiled at the offer Nathan gave, to allow him to steal some of his fries to hold him off until his food was done. He looked the pile of fries over and contemplated taking a few when his name was called. His burger and fries were finally done. Sweet succulent food. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the counter where his tray was waiting for him. He picked it up and made his way back to Nathan. He laughed inside about Nathan thinking Ami was out of his league. If Ami was out of his league, James knew he wouldn't stand a chance if he had the time and tried. As he sat down, James smiled at Nathan and took a bite of his burger.

Kylie’s jab at Olivia being a snitch and the dirty look she gave her didn’t really bother Olivia; she just rolled her eyes as a reply. Growing up with that many siblings you learned to ignore dumb remarks and pick your battles. Olivia stood up and walked into the kitchen. She paced back and forth in front of the fridge for a short moment, until she gave in and opened it. She looked at the tupperwares full of leftovers. Olivia crinkled her nose at the spaghetti, pancakes, tuna casserole, and mashed potatoes sitting on the shelves inside. She added up all the carbohydrates and calories in disgust. She glanced at the assortment of juice, pop, and junkfood and frowned. She was fending for dinner herself tonight, so she opted for one rolled up piece of sliced turkey, four celery sticks with peanut butter, and a handful of almonds. Placing her choices on the counter she closed the fridge, and poured herself a tall glass of ice water. Then with her dinner in hand she made her way upstairs to her room, bypassing Zoey in the living room who was happily texting her friends on her phone.

She set her food and water down on the desk, and sighed. She really did feel bad about her behavior today, and wanted to apologize, but speaking up was not something she felt confident about. She got the idea to write them each a letter, like she uses to do when she was little and still learning how to write. Opening up a notebook she ripped a piece of paper out, grabbed a pen and started writing, as she nibbled at her almonds. It was not hard to write once she got going, and her letters ended up as more of a deeply depressing diary entry on how she hated herself, that everything was all her fault, she missed her parents, and was sorry for ruining everyone lives. Once she was finished writing them, she reread, and then crumpled up the papers. She buried them in the bottom of the trash next to the desk, and started on simpler apology letters.






Folding each letter she wrote the recipient names on the back. She placed one on Zoey’s pillow, and then went to each bedroom and slid the letter under the corresponding door. Going down stairs she went down to the basement, and peered into James’s room. He was out so she placed the letter with his name on it, on his bed and lingered for a moment looking over at his closet, which was open. She loved borrowing her brother’s sweaters and hoodies. They were big, warm, and best of all it covered up her boney body. She typically has to borrow his clothes fresh out of the dryer, because James always locked his closet door. She quickly went over to his dresser to barrow his green cable knit sweater that she loved to wear.

Opening the first drawer of the dresser on the right she was in for a surprise. It was full of woman’s underwear, and some squishy things that looked like boobs. She glanced into the second drawer, and it held some dresses and skirts. Pure confusion was all she felt. Folded neatly inside the next two drawers was more women’s clothing, and none of it Olivia had ever seen anyone in the house wear before. She picked up the corset. Why did James have a whole dresser of girl’s clothes in his closet, and fake eyelashes? Did he have a secret girlfriend that slept over or something? Olivia raised her eyebrows and shoved the corset back in the drawer. She had no clue, but she really hoped he was not secretly a pervert like Riley.

Curious now she opened the other dresser to the left, she found it full of James’s clothes he wore all the time. Spotting the green sweater she pulled it on. She clumsily closed all the drawers, and then walked to the door. Turning back she stared at the closet, and in the back of her mind she knew she had found something she was not meant to. She opened the door to leave, and looked up the staircase. Second guessing herself, she pulled the green sweater off. She folded it and put it back where she found it. Unknowingly leaving the drawer slightly opened, she rushed out of the room and up the stairs.

She put on her coat, and pink converse. Grabbing her purse off the table she walked out the front door. She didn’t think to ask permission from anyone to go out, since she never had before. She got her old purple bike out of the shed, and after detaching the childish glitter streamers from the handlebars, she hopped on. Olivia rode her bike down the cobblestone pathway that lined the scenic river. She went all the way to the bridge, and her legs burned from peddling so fast. She propped her bike up against the big willow tree, and walked down the incline that led under the bridge. The water had been really low the past few months, and thankfully that meant there was no water covering the rocky river bank. Sitting down, she leaned against the brick wall under the bridge. Olivia yawned and gazed up at the graffiti and faded murals. This was a favorite place she uses to hang out with friends, when she still had them. They would play mermaids, talk about ballet class, and draw with chalk all over the bricks and rocks. She wondered about the clothing in James’s closet, it was a weird thing to find in a 20 year old mans closet, but nothing to dwell on in Olivia opinion. There had to be a regular reason for it.

Getting her pencils and sketchbook out of her purse she began drawing. About an hour later she had finished her drawing. It was a self-portrait of sorts. It was not really how she saw herself anymore, since it was based off an old doodle from last summer. She put her pencils and sketchbook back in her purse and stood up. She dusted the dirty of her jeans, and walked up to where she left her bike. That’s when she saw Him walking towards her with his sister and mother. He smiled at her, as Mrs. Chadwick waved at Olivia. Taylor had been one of her good friends ever since 1st grade, but as of two months ago they had broken off their friendship after a fight in ballet. Taylor’s older brother was Him.

His name was Lyle, and he was what haunted Olivia’s nightmares. Olivia held her breath as the little family walked over to her. “Olivia dear, how have you been managing? Are you well? I’m so sorry to hear about your parents. You have not been over to the house in ages. You and Taylor should plan something, I would be glad to drive you girls into the city for some shopping…” Mrs. Chadwick flittered on and on. Taylor dug her toe into the dirt and awkwardly waited for her mother to shut up so they could go home. “Yeah, Olivia where have you been? Taylor don’t you miss Ollie?” Lyle said grinning as he spoke, and patting Olivia on the shoulder. Olivia cringed at the use of her nickname coming out of His mouth, and visibly pulled away from his touch. This made him laugh “Whoa, a little jumpy there huh?” Lyle said putting his arm around Taylor, as he tried to stifle a knowing smile. Lyle was very good looking, and one of the most popular guys in the junior class. He was on the varsity swim team, and everyone seemed to adore him. Why he did what he did to her made no scene.

She bolted, she couldn’t take it anymore, and so she just turned and ran. She ran as fast as she could, leaving behind her bike. She kept running, and then she slowed down after about a mile and a half. She bent over to catch her breath and then vomited. Dry heaving for moment afterwards, she walked aimlessly down the road, and tried her best to shake the feelings of fear, disgust, anger, and hysteria. Her hands were shaking and she was sweating. His voice and touch made her remember everything all over again. How he pinned her down and covered her mouth. How he ripped her shirt, and marked her chest and stomach with hickeys. How she hit him over and over again as she tried to scream but he just squeezed her mouth shut tighter. The pain, humiliation, and fear.

Olivia sat down in the tall grass on the side of the road; she had walked all the way to the outskirts of town. She couldn’t do anything to banish the memory so she just let it envelope her. Holding her knees to her chest she cried like the world was ending. She let is all out, and cried so hard she could hardly breathe. Ten minutes later she was hiccuping as she laid in the grass and looked up at the sky. She ran her fingers through the tall blades of grass surrounding her. Her eyes were red and puffy. The front of her coat was covered in tears. And her shoes were caked in mud, but she felt like she could breathe again, for the first time in forever.

_{@BlueAjah@The Muse@Viciousmarrow}

Catching the water bottle with one hand, Rye accepted it graciously as the angel in his life noticed him. Sitting up, he pulled the cap off and took a nice, long gulp. Refreshing. Exactly what he needed. Shrugging at her inquiry, he stretched his muscles, "Oh yeah. Just family stuff." He didn't want her to dig further into the matter of his fantastic morning, so he changed the subject, "So... what about Sunday?" He stared at her like a kid waiting for candy, his excitement to know what she had up her sleeves was undeniable. His deep blue eyes examined her as she sauntered toward him. Oh how the man loved the sway in her hips, the allure in her stare, the light complexion in her skin, and those luscious, glossed lips begging to press up against his firm caress...

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss.

Ah, man. Just a peck? Riley would be lying if he wasn't a little disappointed with the kiss. Sure, they were in a public area but she could have planted a more fiery kiss that showed she desired him and missed him. Even so, he'd keep his feelings to himself. Claire was a timid woman and he had to respect that, unfortunately.

Yes, the male twin had been repressed for way longer than he'd like and now that he had a girlfriend, maybe she could satisfy his cravings. He wondered what she would allow this early on in the game. There was no harm in taking chances to learn what she wanted, right?

"Don't worry about it." Slightly turning his body as she stared down at her knee, Riley brought her head up to look at him once more. Watching her lovingly, he let his eyes do the talking as it captured her attention, drawing her in closer. Entrancingly, he leaned in and went to the side of her ear and sensually whispered, "I missed you too..." And with that he romantically pressed his lips against her cheek, tempted to bite but refraining from doing so. Unhurriedly, the tease of a man made a trail of kisses on her smooth skin, building anticipation... desire, until finally their lips locked. Time had stopped for them. Pulling her in closer and running his hand through her golden hair, the wolf was determined to give his girlfriend a reason to never look away. The kiss started small, but grew more intense as time went on. It was as if they were the only two that mattered in this moment. The taste behind her lips were like nectar. Her intoxicated scent entered his nostrils and only made him want her more. Riley was addicted and he never wanted to let go of this narcotic.

”Oh, look how cute they are, Sophi! Aren’t they just adorable?!” Breaking from the kiss, agitated and irked, Riley brought his attention to his two cockblocking sisters. What a buzz kill. His eyes narrowed as he watched his twin nudge Sophi and put on a faux act. He doubted his girlfriend would catch onto his sisters. After all, this was indeed their first meeting. The male twin had been around these nightmares long enough to know where this was going. In absolute silence, he listened to his pest of a twin, piercing her eyes with his.

”We didn’t expect to see your precious, little faces here. Why don’t you introduce us, my darling brother?”

Standing up, he pulled Claire up, wrapped his arm around her waist and gave a challenging smile to both his sisters, "Oh, how rude of me." He paused to allow his girlfriend time to evaluate the situation and then he gestured with his free hand toward the other women in his life, "Babe, that's Sophi, Sophi this is Claire." Allowing Claire to respond, he waited to introduce his twin. When she was done, he chortled, "And the other one, Kylie." With a playful grin, Rye made a jab at his sisters, "It's great that you guys are running! You both look like you gained a few pounds."

---

---

Maddie dropped the last box on the hardwood floor of her new room, and sighed. Now that they're all out of the living room, maybe Mom can stop bitching about them. Her room was spacious, but only because of a relative lack of furniture. She had a bed set up, but no desk, dresser, or mirror, anything, really. Just a bed, a floor, and a walk-in closet.

Getting on her knees, and opening the first box, she looked inside, to find.... clothes. Closing it, she threw the box to the closet, cardboard making a nice muffled thump against the fiberboard door. However, the next box was full of important stuff, and Maddie smiled when she saw it.

Her parkour camera, which fit snugly on the brim of her Urban Runner 2014 hat, a black and red baseball cap with the logo of a running man jumping over the gap between two roofs, was at the top. Taking the hat out, she put it on her head, more out of spontaneity rather than anything else. This hat had history. Next was her paintball gear and weaponry, she set that on the floor, and last, under everything, was her parkour shoes. These shoes weren't any different than normal shoes with exceptional tread, but these were the shoes she won the Urban Runner 2014 competition with, signed by the famous Aiden Michels, who was both a celebrity in the parkour community, and a judge in the Urban Runner competitions. He was kind of Maddie's crush, except Damien didn't like it when she talked about other guys.

Kicking off her Adidas shoes, she pulled on her 'Michels', as she liked to call them, and took off her hoodie, throwing it onto the bed, revealing her white t-shirt underneath. Dressed for 'running, she put her phone in her front right pocket, and turned around, ready to hit the town, see what kind of stuff there was here.

However, as soon as she left her room, her mother was there, waiting, staring at her, judging her. Rolling her eyes, she could already anticipate what she was about to say. Why don't you find something worthwhile to do, instead of wasting your time running around town? Why don't you get a job? Why don't you- Why don't you- Blah blah blah.

However, though her eyes spoke volumes about how she thought her daughter was a disappointment, she said nothing about it. "Could you get the door? There's someone there."

Maddie looked at her, as if to say, "Well why don't you get it then?", but she managed to restrain herself. "Yes, mother."

Shaking her head in disgust, she walked to the front door, and opened it, without even looking through the peephole. She was not disappointed by her discovery, for there stood a blonde-haired beauty in her doorway, a smiling hunk of man. Instantly all smiles, she leaned forward, and got closer. "Hello sir! What brings you to this doorstep on this fine day?" @Themerlinhawk

However, before she could say anything, or the man could respond, her mother came up behind her, and said, "Ah. Never mind then. Maddie, go back inside. This isn't your concern."

Maddie frowned, clearly quite angry. "Not my concern? Not my concern? I'm a fucking adult, mother." Why would she humiliate her in front of this cute guy like that? "GOD." Running past the guy, she turned left, and ran down the road.

Once Maddie was gone, Ms. Noll sighed, and turned to the man. "Sorry about that. So, what do you need, young man?" Ms. Noll was extremely attractive for her age, black hair falling in locks around her shoulders, and while her face was beautiful, her most prominent feature was most definitely her cleavage. Even Jerry, nice guy that he was, would find it difficult to ignore the sheer amount of boob on this woman, especially the way she was dressed, button down shirt unbuttoned for a ways.

---

She ran. And ran. Jumping over low walls, kicking off railings, simple stuff. Her camera was rolling recording her progress through the town. To be honest, it wasn't that bad, and parkour was always one of her favorite pastimes. Relieved stress too- OHMYGODWHAT'STHATGUYDOINGINMYWAY?!?!?!

"HOLY SHI-" Luckily for the kiddos in the park, she crashed into the casanova, shoulder-checking him in the back, and flipped forward from the jump she had intended to do from the start, landing on her ass.

Cringing and rubbing her now-sore posterior, she immediately turned to the guy and asked, "Are you okay, dude? I'm soooooooo sorry. I didn't see you before I jumped."

Standing up, dusting off her jeans, she held out a hand for the guy who she had just rammed, not acknowledging the other girls yet. It was EXTREMELY bad, what Maddie had just done, in the parkour community, and she had to make sure the guy was okay.

No matter if the guy refused her hand, or was helped up by the girl she assumed was his girlfriend, or anything else happened at all, Maddie would immediately apologize profusely again, blushing, and saying, "Listen, I'm really, really sorry. I scouted out this route yesterday, and there wasn't usually anyone on the wall. Is there anything at all that I can do to make up for it?"

---

@lovely complex@Viciousmarrow@BlueAjah@The Muse

Jerry smiled at the beautiful young woman who opened the door and opened his mouth to respond to her greeting when she was interrupted by another dark haired woman who appeared from behind her. The younger woman was clearly upset by the appearance of her mother. Jerry made a mental note of what appeared to be a strained relationship. Tracking her run away from the house he furrowed his brow before turning back to the woman.

Taking in the dark haired beauty standing in the doorway it was quite clear where the younger woman got her own beauty. “Hello, I’m Jeremiah I just moved in across the street and I figured I might as well introduce myself. I hope I didn’t cause that.” That had been such a quick shift and it was bringing out the police officer in Jerry as he turned to look towards where she’d run off to. “Is your daughter going to be okay?” Absent mindedly Jerry tucked his thumb into his belt next to his badge and ASP as he leaned out off the porch.

The girl was certainly fast but then again it looked like she’d been preparing for a run before she opened the door so no doubt she was athletic. ”Damn she is certainly fast.”

He turned back and her prominent cleavage finally caught his attention causing him to double take before meeting her eyes. Well, this was going well. At some point here hopefully he’d meet a normal person in Millington. An image of Nana popped into his head and a small smile tugged at his lips.

Normal would be an insult

@Athinar

A smile covered her lips as Riley inquired about Sunday, she loved seeing him so excited. Of course she wouldn’t say though. It was a surprise, afterall. . “You’ll have to find out on Sunday. It’s a surprise!”

The demanding noises around her simply vanished as Riley’s warm touched dragged her eyes away from the burning wound to his bright eyes. The sun glowed around his face, as if someone was showing the two belonged together. She froze as he leaned in to whisper in her ear and tingles shot all across her body. His lips journeyed across her face, searching for the sweet taste of her lips. She could feel the gnawing hunger within him growing. He wanted her. And she wanted him. The moment their lips touched, Claire threw away any form of rational thinking and simply let him have her. She never let her eyes leave his as they kissed. Time stopped and nothing existed but the two of them. A spell had taken over her and she never wanted to escape this incredible feeling of passion and love. Of course things never went on forever. It seemed just as they began kissing, an obnoxious voice awoke them from their spell.

Claire looked up to find someone extremely familiar. It wasn’t until the girl spoke the word brother did she understand why. Red hair, blue eyes, it should have been obvious. Standing before her must have been Rylie’s twin sister, Kylie. Claire had been dying to meet her. Smoothing down her hair, Claire smiled widely. She would have introduced herself if Riley hadn’t stepped in. He pulled to her to his side, as if protecting her from the two. After introducing her to them, Claire extended out a hand. . “Hello! I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me but yes, I am Claire, girlfriend to this wonderful person. You must be so lucky to have him as a brother. I’m extremely grateful we met.” After Riley’s comments about their weights, Claire couldn’t help but feel she should talk. . “Oh? If you two are worried about your weight, I have several dieting tips that I could give you.” She continued smiling.

Before the two could reply, a strong forced smacked into her boyfriend’s body. Chaos seemed to follow. Something hard smacked into her head, and before she could even comprehend what was happening, Claire fell straight to the ground. She groaned in pain and begged nothing was broken. What in the world happened? Looking over to her boyfriend, she noticed both Kylie and him were...kissing??? A tange of jealousy filled her at the sight of her boyfriend kissing another woman, although they were siblings.

Standing up, she rushed to Riley’s side, ignoring the figure who must have knocked Riley down. . “Riley? Are you alright?” She asked, rubbing his shoulder in worry.

---

@Viciousmarrow@Athinar@lovely complex@The Muse

_{Collab with @Emma}

Chris pressed the gas and eased out of the parking lot of the high school. “Blake my man.” he said greeting his brother when he popped into the car. “Well my literature class was canceled today, apparently the professor finally had her baby last night. Anyway my day has been rather dull, any ideas on how liven up the rest of it? Like maybe the amusement park, or arcade, or something you're into. I’m dying for some quality time with my little bro. We haven’t really hung out since I moved back in.” Chris said light heartedly as he glanced at Blake in the passenger seat. Chris had only been at Dartmouth for about two years, but every time he came back home for holiday vacation, it seemed like Blake had grown another inch, and his voice had changed even more. It was kind of depressing that he might not even see Blake graduate high school.

Blake smiled as he relaxed into the seat, staring out the window as the school began to fade away in the distance. Chris actually wanted to spend time with him? His older brother seemed so preoccupied since he was back that Blake didn’t really expect him to want some time to hang out with his little brother. “Can we go see Deadpool? I haven’t seen it yet.” All of his friends had somehow convinced their parents to let them see the movie, but Blake had been unable to with his. Chris was cool enough, he would let him…. right?

Chris smiled at Blake’s suggestion. He remembered hearing their old man telling Blake that he was to young to see Deadpool, and that rated R meant something in their house. Mom agreed with Pop of course, she and dad were quite the parent duo when it came to discipline and rules. “Yeah, I’ve been wanting to see it too. It's all anyone talks about at the university right now. Perfect idea, popcorn sounds great too.” Chris made a left towards the mall, and then came to a stop at the red light. As he waited for it to turn green he spotted Tara jogging down the sidewalk. He honked at Tara to get her attention and then smiled charmingly as he waved at her. He remembered being class partners with her back in senior year of high school. Home Economic class had never been more entertaining, with freshman Tara around. The light turned green and he pressed the gas lightly. Lately his driving had become a lot less reckless. He wished he could have some control in his fate, and so driving more carefully and taking precautions was he way of helping his odds in the game of life and death. Dying in a fiery crash was more or less preventable, as long as there was no idiots on the road. Lucky Millington was basically a perpetually safe tiny town. Well minus the Reese parents.

Truthfully, Blake should have been going straight home to do his homework. At least that’s what his mom told him. That, and that he was grounded until “further notice.” His grades hadn’t pleased her, so she figured grounding him would do the trick. What Chris didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. “Awesome!” Blake filled with excitement, grinning as his brother agreed to the suggestion. Finally, he could be a part of the jokes going around at school about some kind of “baby hand” scene. Whatever that meant. “It’s good having you back, Chris.” He mentioned, glancing at the dark haired girl Chris had honked at while stopped at the light. He eyed her, trying to determine if she had been one of his brother’s previous girlfriends, but her face didn’t ring a bell. There had been too many to keep track of, honestly.

Chris turned into the Mall parking lot and parked his Jag in the shaded spot near the north entrance. “It’s nice being back Blake. You, Mom, and Pop are my most important people.” Chris said sincerely to Blake. He took the keys out of the ignition, and stepped out of the car. “Anyway, to the movies.” He said happily leading the way into the mall.

Chris had seemed more timid than usual.. not quite like the brother he remembered before he left for college. Blake had felt like asking if everything was okay within the past few days of his brother being back, but never worked up the courage to do it. Why had his brother even left college? He didn’t want to press… it seemed like a delicate topic between Chris and their parents. Instead, Blake decided to focus on the here and now. Deadpool! “So, have you scooped up any new girlfriends since being back yet?” Blake joked as they left the parking lot and entered the mall. Hopefully someday Blake could gain the confidence his brother had to swoon so many women. Sometimes it felt like that was what their father was most proud of for Chris, minus his star athletics. Blake, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have half the charm his older brother did.

A new girlfriend, or boyfriend for that matter, was not something Chris saw in his near future. Sex was something he had always been amazing at, just like soccer, but sadly he now had to abstain from both. ”None yet. There is quite an abnormal amount hot people in this town though, so I see a bright future ahead of me.” Chris said with just a twinge of sarcasm. They walked up to the ticket booth. “Two for Deadpool. Keep the change.” He said handing the pizza faced attendant a fifty dollar bill. “Do you have your eyes on any ladies at school? Or gents perhaps?” Chris asked grabbing the tickets and heading over to the snack counter. He looked over the list of popcorn combos, trying to decide on which he wanted.

“I’m sure you’ll find someone soon enough. You always do.” He laughed, watching his brother hand the attendant a fifty. That kid just got a damn good tip, but the extra cash really didn’t mean much to the Warren brothers. Standing at the snack counter, his eyes scanned the menu. “Oh… no, I don’t really like anyone at school…” His voice lacked the enthusiasm it had just a few moments ago. He was nothing like his older brother had been in high school, that was clear. “Uhm,” Time to change the subject. “Can I get a blue Icee?” He looked over to his brother, an innocent smile forming on his face. They both knew their parents didn’t usually support a giant cup of pure sugar.

”Get whatever you want, my man.” Chris said smiling right back at him, knowing Blake’s innocent smile was really just a mischievous one. Candy, pop, sweets, and sugar in general were not typically kept in the house. Their parents were both granola health nuts, and spent most of their free time training for marathons. The fact that they were both doctors did not help with the no junk food rule at home. “We’ll have one large blue icee, a large sprite, and two popcorns with extra butter. Oh, and a bag of skittles. Anything else you want Blake?” Chris asked handing the money to the cashier, as an attractive ginger scooped their popcorn order into buckets. It seemed like the right moment to cheat on his annoyingly restrictive diet, so extra butter is what it was going to be.

Chris really was the man. The one person who never let him down. In spite of how annoyed their mother might be when they got home, this was turning out to be a good day. “Nope, that’s it for me.” He said, taking the Icee from the girl at the cash register and instantly beginning to suck down the sweet drink. Suddenly, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. He took it out and read the text from his mother. “Where are you?” He frowned, but decided it was best to reply. Ignoring her would mean hell to pay. Quickly he typed back, “I’m hanging out with Chris. He picked me up from school.” It wasn’t exactly a lie… just not completely the truth, either. Placing his phone on silent, he stuffed it back into his jean pocket and began walking down the long hall of theater rooms to find theirs.

Christopher’s phone buzzed as they entered theater number eight. He let Blake choose where to sit as he checked his phone. It was a text from mom “Is Blake with you?” Chris sighed. His parents were busy with work most of the time, but they were always around when they really need to be. The over protectiveness thing was just apart of their mom's core personality. She had always been that way. It had been hard for her to conceive a baby at all let alone a second one. She always called Blake and Chris her little miracles after suffering from infertility for so long. “Blake is with me, we are just hanging out. I’m helping with some school stuff.” he texted the lie to his mother. In a roundabout way he was kind of helping Blake with the social part of school, by letting him see the most popular movie. Chris turned his phone off, and sat down next to Blake handing him one of the buckets of popcorn. ”If mom asks you later where we were, just tell her I was helping you with school stuff.” Chris whispered to him as the room darkened, and the trailers started playing on the big screen.

_{Collab with: @Viciousmarrow and @lovely complex}

---

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I should have told you, when we were younger. Talk quenches thirst but does nothing for hunger…

---

---

Riley’s words were beating Kylie into the ground, hammering her with blow after blow. It was clear he didn’t want either of his sisters here, though he hid his true motives like a cunning fox. He stood there with a champion’s swagger, arm around his prize and a shit eating grin plastered on his face. Not to mention, Claire could not fathom Riley’s subtle messages and added a tasteless comment about dieting. ’I weigh 115 pounds… Do you really think I need to lose weight, bitch?’ Kylie was bubbling with fury’s magma, and it took everything for her to remain unperturbed. She smiled gently back at her brother, but her sapphire orbs goaded him to continue digging the hole he was so valiantly exhuming.

Impressed at his girlfriend’s initiative to talk to his sisters, the male twin monitored the girls’ introduction to make sure no cat claws appeared. He couldn’t help but let out a light chuckle when Claire gave his sisters dieting tips. They weren’t actually fat and he knew that, but the Fox also knew that they hated when people commented on their weight, especially Sophia. Riley had a job to do, which was to tease and pester his sisters. What were brothers for? Though, he probably should have warned Claire about Mama Bear Sophi and Spoiled Princess Kylie. Women were wonderful species but at the same time… scary as hell. One minute they were smiling and loving every minute they had with him, the next a demoness unleashed and wanted to drag him to Hell.

His deep blue stare met with his twin’s matching eyes. She seemed to have daggers aimed at him behind her orbs. Her long silence made him nervous, his grip around his girlfriend tightening. ’Say something…’ All day he and his twin were at each other’s throats. Why couldn’t they come to a truce? Like this entire week, Kylie had gotten angry and snapped at him. Maybe the issue was about more than just today’s events? Did he do something last week that made her upset? Perhaps, tonight they should talk about what’s been bothering her and if he is the cause of her anger. Wait, unless that’s what she wants… For him to check up on her like always. No! Not tonight! But… what if it’s important? Goddammit, his twin was impossible.

Kylie’s pert lips were opening to retort when the unexpected transpired.

”Son of a--”

Everything happened in milliseconds. Riley’s attention stayed on his twin sister as he went flying into her, crashing into the tiny girl. His larger frame hit her smaller one, their bodies up against each other, intimately closer than they’ve ever been before. As she fell backward, down to the ground, he fell forward, following suit. He thought fast and brought his hand behind her head to protect her from the impact and his other arm wrapped around her waist bringing her into a protective embrace, unintentionally pulling her closer into him. If he could, he would flip her over him but there wasn’t enough time. The stranger that had suddenly hit his back was not something he had mentally prepared for. Even so, Riley had enough time in this moment to make sure his weight didn’t crush her, that the cement didn’t scar her body, and that she’d be okay after this.

’Please don’t hurt her...’

At first, his focus was to make the fall as painless as possible. He hadn’t even noticed their lips meet. Still, his stare was fixated on her sapphire jewels as they both smacked the ground. After a blink or two, he finally registered the taste of cherry lipgloss, the heat of her breath, the succulent feeling of her... Frozen, his expression refused to change and his eyes were bewildered. How should he feel about this?

An umber haired girl crashed into her brother, sending him reeling into Kylie, while Claire was pushed head-first into Sophia. His momentum dragged the twins to the earth and his lips collided with hers. Riley’s reflexes kicked in, and his hand snaked through her hair to protect her head from the fall. The redheaded vixen’s heart lurched at the sudden impact of his masculine jaw against her cherry-flavored, glossy trap. It was sloppy and unintentional, but she notably relished every second it. Her expression twisted into disbelief and shock, wanting to take more and more of her brother in. In the moment that felt like forever, she experienced something she had secretly longed for, and yet, at the same time, the tendrils of disgust crept up her spine. She hated this: being so captivated by the one person she shouldn’t. But Riley was everything she wanted, everything she dreamed of. He was the one person she loved more than anything, but she held so much contempt for him for that fact.

Not one, but two conniving hussies ravaged Kylie’s twinkle of heaven, stealing away the dream in front of her. Tearing herself from her brother, she pushed him away with her legs and hands, and promptly crawled backwards across the cement. Her expression sung a song of revulsion as she got onto her knees, dry heaving and threatening to vomit her meager lunch onto the soil below. Internally, the twin was panicking after this experience. Kylie didn’t know how to grasp everything that had befallen her, and her thoughts were twisting and turning. Her pulse was racing like wildfire, and she felt reality flicker in and out of existence. Without a word, everything went dark. Her unconscious form fell to the side, lying motionless as a cool breeze wafted over the lot.

Riley watched as his twin used all the power she could muster to push him off. He couldn’t even acknowledge his girlfriend, who worriedly asked him if he was alright. Swiftly rising up, the flamed-haired male cautiously approached his twin as she went through a surge of nausea. ’Do I really kiss that bad?’ He didn’t know if she was experiencing this because of the kiss or she had been feeling sick all day. Regardless, he needed to take-- His eyes widened as she went into a dead faint.

”Kylie!” Riley darted to her, grabbing ahold of his twin before she could hit the ground. Taking a deep sigh of relief, he looked at her calm face and muttered, ”Everything is going to be okay.” Picking his sister up, the man put one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, letting his twin’s head rest against his shoulder like a groom holding his sleeping bride, or a knight holding his rescued princess.

First, he glanced at his girlfriend, apologizing, ”I’m so sorry about all this. If you want, my house isn’t too far. I can fix us up some dinner and we can watch a movie or something?” Observing Claire’s facial movements, the man wanted to catch onto any unpleasant feelings she may harbor, if there were any.

”Unless you can’t... I’d understand. I really need to get her home.” Riley wistfully declared.

Turning his attention to his older sister, Rye gave a reassuring smile, ”You need to get ready for your date! Don’t worry about Kylie, I’ll take care of her.”

And last but not least… his blue eyes glanced at the cause of all this, ”Scouting a route once doesn’t make an area safe the next day. This is a small town with random people. You must be new here if you haven’t caught onto that. I’d suggest going back to the basics. Clearly, you skipped learning about safety. Next time, I won’t be as forgiving.”

The annoyance behind Riley’s tone was indisputable as he held his twin close. Turning toward the hiking path in the woods, the worried brother concluded, ”Claire, if you do decide to come, you know where I live. I’m walking home. Come on, Sophi.”

---

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And I'm starving, it's been like this for three years now. They tell me take it easy but I don't know how.

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_{@Athinar@The Muse@BlueAjah}

“Oh? If you two are worried about your weight, I have several dieting tips that I could give you.” was the only thing Sophia heard, the rest of the dumb blonde’s words disappeared into thin air. Who did this girl think she was? Clearly, she was too stupid to realize the words that were coming out of her mouth. That, or Sophia really did need to hit the gym more often than she already did. Perhaps it was time to double up on her kick boxing class.

With an obviously disgusted facial expression, Sophia decided to leave the girls hand hanging in the air. “How sweet of you.” Her gaze shot daggers as she stared at the girl, unafraid of displaying her annoyance.

Slowly, she peeled her eyes away from Claire and to her brother with a “are you serious?” kind of look. Before she had the chance to say anything, another girl came flying from around the corner and shouldered Riley, causing him and his blonde bimbo to fly forward. Sophia began to move backwards as the two fell in unison, though it was not quick enough. Unfortunately Claire’s head rammed right into Sophia’s elbow and consequently into her ribs thereafter. The force knocked Sophia back and she let out a little squeal as she landed onto the pavement, cringing from the slight pain in her ribs and skidding her ass on the parking lot.

“What the hell?!” Sophia’s glare switched to the brunette who had been the cause of the entire domino effect. With her attention completely on the girl, Sophia (fortunately) completely missed her siblings accidental kiss. “I hope you were running from your goddamn murderer.” She got up from the ground, watching Kylie squirm away from Riley in a hurry… and then faint.

“Kylie!” Sophia rushed over in an attempt to grab her, but Riley was there just in time. “Oh god, did she hit her head?” For a brief moment Sophia’s face showed complete and utter worry, until it dissipated to anger and she shot her cold glare at the brunette; obviously blaming her entirely for her sister passing out. “You better hope she’s going to be okay.” She hissed, still scowling. “What’s your-”

“I’m so sorry about all this. If you want, my house isn’t too far. I can fix us up some dinner and we can watch a movie or something? Unless you can’t... I’d understand. I really need to get her home.”

Sophia raised a brow, turning to her brother who was now holding her sister's limp body in a bride-like fashion. Clearly, he wasn’t as worried about this as she was. Did Kylie have a history within the last three years of passing out that Sophia wasn’t aware of or something? How could he possibly still be fine with inviting Claire over when their sister needed attention? God, their brother could be an idiot when girls were involved.

“You need to get ready for your date! Don’t worry about Kylie, I’ll take care of her.”

“I.. what… Riley, are you sure? I think we might need to take her to the hospital… ” Sophia was baffled. Did they both hit their heads on the way down? At this point, the date wasn’t sounding like much of an option. In fact, today had been such a shit show that she wasn’t sure if she even felt up for going on a date. Going home, locking herself in her room, and downing an entire bottle of Pinot Grigio sounded like a much better plan.

As her brother scolded the other girl, Sophia walked over to stand at his side. She began to scan Kylie’s face, looking for signs of bleeding or bruises. She was clearly breathing, so that was good at least. Still, her brother seemed alarmingly calm. Did Sophia miss something?

“Claire, if you do decide to come, you know where I live. I’m walking home. Come on, Sophi.”

Sophia followed in suit, calling over her shoulder, “You can’t stay long, though. The girls have to get up early for school tomorrow, after all.” Her tone sounded sweet, but it was obviously a hint to Claire that she wasn’t exactly welcome.

---

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Anthony drove through the streets of the town, dressed in a vest, tie, and slacks, dressed for a classy-yet-not-tuxedo-classy date. He had handled the reservations at Gio's earlier, and got two tickets for The Underground, (which sat safely in his inside pocket of his vest,) ready for the night.

Pulling around the corner in his Crown Vic, Anthony made his way to the address that Sophi had sent him in her text.

"Hi Anthony! It's Sophi. I'm at 780 Crescent Lane. Can't wait to see you at 7! (winky kissy face emoji)"

Anthony had shot back with a quick, "Awesome. I'll see you there!", and promptly jumped in his car, driving like a sixteen-year-old with his first set of wheels, until he arrived at Crescent Lane, where he promptly slowed the hell down. Didn't want her to think he was reckless or anything.

Anthony was actually pretty jazzed for this date, having seen Sophi around before and thinking she was cute, but not knowing how to talk to her. This was so great, finally getting to go on a date with her, maybe get to know her a little better. This would work out, Anthony was convinced of it.

Pulling up to the house, Anthony unlocked the car, and stepped out. It seemed like Sophi wasn't waiting outside, so he took the keys out of the ignition, and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Jogging around the front of the car, Anthony put his keys in his pockets, and straightened his hair one last time, using his fingers as a comb. Adjusting his tie, smiling, Anthony knocked on the door.

Whoever opened it would see an exceptionally tall, dashing man, who's athletic frame looked like it was made for dressy clothing, dark hair tousled despite his best attempts to comb it otherwise, and a silly grin on his face.

@The Muse (Or anyone in the house who wants to answer the door, really.)

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Ms. Noll shook her head in response to Jerry's question. "Don't worry, it isn't your fault. Maddie is just... excitable. Seriously, don't worry about it. Opening the door wider, she stood in the doorway, her short, voluptuous figure occupying the portal.

"Yes, she's going to be alright. When she acts like this, she just needs some time to cool down, don't worry." She looked Jerry up and down, and as if approving of what she saw, she pointed her thumb back into the house.

"I don't have everything set up, but would you like to take a seat? I could get you a drink, and we could talk about the barbecue, maybe you could tell me a little more about Millington. I'm new here, you see." Her voice was that of a woman used to getting exactly what she wanted, when she wanted, but her face had a gentle smile on it, and she beckoned with a single hand.

@Themerlinhawk

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Maddie walked through the mall, sipping from an extremely large cup of soda that she had gotten from the movie theater. That movie was pretty good. She hadn't ever heard of Deadpool before, but he was funny, and it was by the guys who made the Avengers, so that was two marks for it. Walking around, she arrived at the food court, and decided that this was a good time to update her Twitter.

Taking out her phone, she aimed the camera in such a way as to reveal the lovely fountain in the center of the food court, which was behind her, and posed, snapping the picture. Eh, it'd do. She was cute enough without a filter, so she just left it as it was, and uploaded it to Twitter.

"Just saw Deadpool! Great movie, sooo funny!" - Maddie @M4DD13Noll#MallLyf #JustSawDeadpool #Greatmovie #MountainDew

Putting her phone away, Maddie picked up her soda, taking another sip, and walking past mallgoers eating at tables, looked for a restaurant that she wanted to eat at. China Wok? Nah, not in the mood for Chinese. Pizza King? Too greasy. Chik-Fil-A? Nah.

Finally, she settled at a burger joint, and bought a small, plain, hamburger, with extra lettuce and tomato. Satisfied with her purchase, and tummy beginning to growl, she walked back to the fountain, and was about to sit down on the edge of it, when she was suddenly shoved forward, landing in the disgusting water.

Wide-eyed, and trembling with fury, she whipped her head around to see the cause of her fall. She was already having a bad enough day, why did someone have to go make it worse?? It turned out that it was some skater punk, weaving in between the tables, doing basic tricks. Growling with rage, she stalked towards the man dressed in all black, not even caring that her white t-shirt was dripping wet, and bowing up, ruined phone in hand, threw it like a brick at the guy's head as he passed the table of two young guys who looked to be around Maddie's age, if maybe a little older.

The phone hit the guy in the temple, and he fell to the ground, more out of surprise, than anything. Glowering, he got up, and took out his earbuds, clearly intending to put the girl in her place. However, he never got a chance, as Maddie's hand was on a direct, high-velocity trajectory to his face.

As she slapped him, Maddie yelled into his ear, which had dumbass gauges, and shouted, "Watch where your punk-ass is going, boy? You see what you did?" Maddie gestured to her wet... well, everything, and continued, "You think that you can just knock me into a fountain and get away with it? Is that it? Well I got news for you, punk, NOT FUCKING LIKELY!"

Even though she was making a scene, Maddie continued. She was clearly in the right, and didn't care about what others would think. However, as the two got into the argument, they each got more and more animated, and it was clear that, if it escalated, Maddie wouldn't stand much of a chance against the taller, dangerous-looking skater punk.

@Saint Girralo@karamonnom (I'm in your mall, ruining your peaceful day. If you don't want this to happen, I can redact it.)