"Stupid school, stupid Jenkins, stupid suspension." Sarah meandered down the street, skateboard in hand. She wasn't in any kind of hurry to get back home, especially since she would be hand-delivering another suspension notice from her oh-so-fantastic vice principal.

"He just has it out for me – I didn't even do anything that bad." She muttered to herself, thinking over the fight in gym class.

"Of course she's on the lacrosse team. She's like, not even a girl." Mandy gave Sarah a once-over, giggling loudly about Sarah's lack of fashion sense…and boyfriend.

"Did you hear about Jeremy, though?" Mandy narrowed her eyes as Patricia whispered in her best friend's ear. The girls frowned. Jeremy Meader was one of the most attractive boys in school, and all the girls desperately wanted him to ask them to the upcoming semi-formal.

But it was lacrosse season, and Sarah wasn't focused on the dance. She was focused on game day, which happened to be the day of the dance. She was one of the most intimidating players on the lacrosse team, mostly because guys never wanted to hit a girl, but Sarah pummeled them all and traveled down the field with ease. Even when they started attacking her also, she still almost always got the upper hand. It was actually after yesterday's practice, when Jeremy (in front of Mandy's cheerleading team and all of the prissy cowards that were also cheerleaders) decided that Sarah was the one he wanted to take to the dance.

"Yo, Sarah! So, I know you like, have a game and stuff on Friday…but I was uh, hoping, you'd…y'know. Maybe come to the dance with me after?" The whole question was a garbled, whispered mess, and Sarah had to take off her helmet and lean closer when he repeated it. She brightened considerably: Jeremy and her were friends, they always had been, but she was thinking lately that maybe he could be something a little more special.

"Um, yeah! I'd love to, y'know…if my game ends in time and stuff. It'll probably make us late to the dance and stuff though…" Jeremy grew significantly more confident after Sarah's acceptance.

"Nah, that's fine. I mean, unless you want to be there for the whole four hours." Sarah laughed, knowing that school dances weren't exactly his or her forte.

"Maybe she's sleeping with him. I wouldn't put it past that slut – why else would Jeremy ask her out?" Patricia cackled as Mandy finally delivered the punch line. Sarah snapped. Just because she had a date to the dance did not mean that she had become a shy, timd girl who let people like Mandy walk all over her. No, not at all.

Mandy deserved it, really. She was the classic mean girl who made it her mission to terrorize any and all girls around her with an ounce of brains or independence. She had special targets too, like Sarah: Girls who got things that Mandy wanted (like Jeremy as a date). Unfortunately, Mr. Jenkin's did not agree that a broken nose and sprained wrist was a suitable punishment for Mandy Luce, and so now Sarah not only had to break it to her team that she wasn't playing in Friday's game, she also had to tell Jeremy she was banned from the dance. And her parents, she had to tell her parents, too.

The Baker homefront seemed to be an entirely different warpath than school, though. Her parents were fighting a lot more – They tried to keep it hush hush but it was hard to sleep at one in the morning when they were still screaming. Being the closest to their room, Sarah always heard the most of it, and often she was glad that her younger siblings were further down the hallway.

Not that the younger ones didn't know – They knew the gist. Most of the fights were about Sarah, about how she had changed and was unpredictable, about the detentions she was racking up daily, about the suspensions she brought home every other week, about the (now very real) possibility of expulsion looming ahead if she was caught ever again on school grounds with illegal substances.

None of her older siblings had been such troublemakers, and while Jake always partook in the infamous Sarah and Jake pranks at school, she never let her little bro tag along when she met Macy, Joel, and Nick in the back parking lots during school hours. Tom and Kate just didn't know how to deal with her, which meant they were divided on how to stop Sarah from spiraling out of control.

Tom wanted her to move away, for a little while, he thought that without partners in crime, Sarah wouldn't get in trouble so much. But Kate wanted Sarah to stay home. She didn't want to separate Sarah from the only two people who could talk her down from foolish and stupid (and illegal) ideas: Not her parents, but Jake and Mike.

Kate was firm: The three of them helped each other, and soon Jake and Mike would understand that maybe Sarah was venturing into dangerous territory, and they'd pull her back. It was hard to stop Sarah when she made decisions, but all Jake had to do was place a placating hand on her shoulder and she'd stop. She would let it go, and not heckle Jake for being a coward. Not everyone had that kind of hold over her.

She didn't want to go home so soon. So it was simple: She didn't. She texted her mom she was going skateboarding, ignored the seven texts from Jake and Mike and instead of heading to the skate park (where her two comrades were begging her to go) she went to the park, flopping onto the grass. She liked being outside, and she liked being someplace quiet, especially since she didn't get any peace at home. Not with all the yelling. Sarah stared up at the sky, deciding that a quick nap wouldn't hurt.

She woke up suddenly, the cold air settling on her skin. It was late, definitely dinnertime. It had been at least four hours, and when she glanced at her phone, she gulped. Eighteen messages, from Jake, Mike, Mom, and Dad. Dad only texted her when he was mad. She hopped up, grabbed her board, and made her way home.

She opened the door, and as if the house sensed a fight was brewing, everything quieted instantly. She threw off her shoes and waited silently for a second, trying to figure out which rooms were empty, and which ones held angry parents. Before she could decide, large footsteps were hurrying to the door.

"SARAH BAKER WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" Her dad was screaming now, drowning out her weak apology with more words.

"DO YOU KNOW WHO CALLED US THIS AFTERNOON? YEAH, EXACTLY, MR. JENKINS! JESUS SARAH, CAN'T YOU JUST CONTROL YOURSELF? YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO PUNCHING THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF EVERYONE YOU MEET, LIKE SOME WILD ANIMAL. YOU'RE MOTHER AND I ARE TOO BUSY FOR THIS."

"Tom! Tom, we were not going to start the conversation like this!" Kate threw her hands up in the air, before turning to look sternly at her daughter.

"Sarah, we're really disappointed,"

"DISAPPOINTED? WRONG, KATE. WE WERE DISAPPOINTED THE FIRST TIME, EVEN THE FIFTH TIME! I AM WAY PAST DISAPPOINTED NOW. AND FURTHER MORE, WHAT'S THIS, COMING HOME IN THE MIDDLE OF DINNER!" Sarah craned her neck down the hallway to see Kim and Jess wave sympathetically from the table. Mike's wide eyes were staring at the three of them, and he waved his board in the air, signaling the same question that Kate was asking Sarah.

"Sarah, honey, I thought you were skating with Mike and Jake today. They got back hours ago! Now, I know you're a teenage girl and all, trust me, I already went through this with Nora and Lorraine, but I do not want you out alone in this neighborhood. End of discussion."

"Mom, it wasn't a big deal, I was just at the park. I didn't feel like skating."

"Well, then you were lying, and I especially don't approve of that, young lady." Kate looked sternly at the sixteen-year old, who refused to look up from the ground. Tom meanwhile, seemed to have gotten a grip on his anger, as he breathed deeply.

"Sarah Baker, we cannot just sit here and let you carry on like this! You're out at all times of the night, hanging out with people we don't approve of, getting in fights all the time – you're out of control!"

"Oh, like a wild animal, Dad? Yeah, good to know that I'm not even a person in your eyes." She threw his words back in his face and felt a small sense of satisfaction when he flinched.

"You know I didn't mean,"

"You never mean anything anymore! You're never around, and God knows mom isn't either! You guys just swoop in and decide to be parents when I bring home stupid papers from school!"

"DON'T TAKE THAT TONE WITH ME SARAH BAKER." Her dad had lost it again, Sarah commenting on their parenting was always a sore spot, but this time she didn't care. She brushed by the angrily and stormed up the stairs, cursing under her breath.

Sarah POV

I slammed my door, and within the half hour I could varied footsteps also tromping up the stairs. Most of them made it to my door, hesitating before knocking.

"Come on Sarah, please open up!" Jess and Kim were knocking, I could tell because of their light knocks. Kyle and Nigel were banging on my door with the baseball gloves, but I waited, and they slowly drifted away. The others knew better, that I wouldn't open the door for just anyone, but the sets of twins never stopped trying.

I heard a sigh, and I instantly knew who it was. It was Jake, but even now, I wouldn't let him in.

"She still hasn't opened the door?" Jake shook his head, whispering to Mike. The two knew full well I could hear them, but they never made the first move. They always waited me out, and it normally worked. But not this time.

I eyed the razor blade on my nightstand before rifling through the drawer and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. I checked my phone again.

If you bring the Marlboros, I'll bring the vodka.

I smiled slightly: The weekly trade always occurred, because it was easier for me to bum cigarettes and it was simple for him to filch alcohol from his parents. We had a system, Nick and I, and thanks to the liquor I hadn't needed the razor in about a week. A couple scars were almost faded. No one looked close enough, ever, anyways. And after all, it was always about the release. She threw open her window, shimmied down the large tree next to her room, and took off into the night. It was always, always about the release.

A knock came from outside her door: "Sarah, come on. Why'd you ditch us today?" Lately Jake had been suspicious. He hadn't shared his suspicions with Mike, but he was afraid for his older sister. They were so close they were practically twins, and sometimes he felt like the older one, always trying to protect Sarah from something. Except this time, the enemy seemed to be Sarah herself, and Jake didn't know how to protect his sister from her own mind. He was worried, especially since he and Mike had been waiting in the hall for almost an hour. They never had to wait this long, because Sarah never kept them in the dark.

Except this time, she did. Door locked and the inside silent, Jake and Mike sat waiting for half the night, wondering if their sister could even hear them anymore.

A/N After finally finishing up one of my stories on another fandom, I have decided to revise and finish up this one! It's definitely been close to three years since I've touched this story. (Do you ever do that, and reflect, and realize how much you didn't know about writing? Hah. Happens to me all the time.) Hopefully the revisions/updates will come quickly, since its summer break! Thanks for your patience and happy reading!