She ran, not about to look back. Her life had been a mess from the start, and her foster parents had to get rid of her sometime. At the young age of 14, Courtney was hated. No one wanted her, not even her own parents. She continued to run, and made herself a promise that she would never go back to that dreadful place. A single tear slid across her face, and it quickly was dried up by the fierce wind. She tripped, most likely over her own two feet. When she looked up, she saw a dark figure staring at her. "Hello. Do you need some help?" the figure asked.

"That would be nice." Courtney said. The stranger helped her off the ground. "Thanks."

"My pleasure. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"It's complicated." she said.

"You can tell me. I'll drive you." the stranger said. "My name's Heather. What's yours?"

"I'm Courtney. That won't be necessary." Courtney said. She had no destination, no true home. She's had twenty different names, given to her by twenty different people. She was truly a mess.

"Okay. Nice to meet you." Heather said. She was the first person who treated Courtney with respect. Her first friend.

"On second thought, I could use a ride." Courtney told the 17 year old.

"Great. Get in." she motioned to a pitch black sports car. Heather got into the drivers seat, while Courtney slowly got into the back. The music had been turned all the way up, so loud she could barely hear herself think. "So, where are we going?" Heather asked.

"Anywhere but here."

"You must have a home. I'm sure your parents are worried sick." Heather said concerned.

"Not anymore."

"I'll take you with me. You're not alone, Courtney." Heather told her. It's true, there were a lot of runaways in their town. Most of which belonged to gangs.

"Thank you very much!" Courtney yelled. She was finally going to be with someone who understood her. Someone who cared. After a few more minutes of driving, they arrived at Heather's house.

"Make yourself at home." Heather said. Courtney looked around. She was in a gray room, with Heather and about four other girls. "This is Lindsay," Heather said, motioning to a younger blond girl. She was playing with an upside down braid of another girls hair. "Beth," a girl with glasses, braces and acne, whose hair was being messed with. "and Katie and Sadie." she then pointed to two girls dressed exactly alike with similar hair, yet one was skinnier than the other.

"Hey!" they all shouted.

"Welcome, new member." muttered Heather to herself. Courtney was overwhelmed with joy knowing that the girls that stood before her were all runaways as well. "Courtney, I need to talk to you for a sec, 'kay?"

"Sure!" she replied.

"We are the Black Roses. I know it sounds like an unbelievable request, but we would like you to join us." Heather said. "Yes, we're a gang, but we never get into trouble. And we always look out for each other like family. So what do you say?"

"Well, if I'm going to live here I might as well. Thank you." Courtney accepted.

"Excellent." said Heather, with an evil smile on her face.

"Hi. I'm Lindsay. Can I talk to you?" Lindsay asked Courtney.

"I don't see why not." Courtney replied.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't your parents ever tell you not to join gangs?" Lindsay asked, aggravated.

"Yes, but I'm my own person now. I can do whatever I want. Aren't you in this gang too?"

"Yes, but I was forced by Heather!" Lindsay yelled. Courtney just shot her a confused look. "I may look like a dumb blonde, but I'm smarter than you think."

"But-"

"Shh! You already know too much. I'm leaving here. If you come with me, you'll be free."

"But I'm free here!"

"Okay, fine. But I warned you." Lindsay said, and then walked away. Courtney was very confused. Had this been the same clueless blond that she was in front of Heather, or was it just an act?

A/N: That took awhile… TDI- not mine. R&R!