Hi guys, me back with another new story, and a multichapter, like a proper big one ;) This is probably my biggest mentalist project yet and certainly means the most to me, i've been planning it for at least a year, and having just spent a month in mexico and two weeks in france on a long summer after exams, i've (finally) had some time to sit down and write it!

I've never written a high school fic before, and while this is a high school fic, it's probably (or at least i hope!) pretty different to other ones you've read, or certainly ones i've read before. Warning you now it will get fairly dark and will dip into some murky subjects (telling you what they are would kinda ruin the story :P) that some people may not be comfortable with but i am going to rate it a T. It's very focussed on Lisbon in particular and what she has to deal with, and there will be jisbon a plenty in later chapters!

I've been very concerned about trying to keep them in character, plus i've added a few other characters of my own to the mix, and any of you who have read my story 'But Why' may recognise the names, i hope you don't mind the new additions and find them likeable enough! For each chapter i have some song lyrics at the start, it may be because the song relates to the mood of the chapter, or the lyrics relate to a specific part of the chapter, or simply because i listened to it a lot while i wrote it. Hope you don't mind, and if you do feel free to ignore it! Oh and the title is inspiration from a song, Young Blood by the Naked and Famous.

Finally, sorry for such a long authors note but i felt i had to explain a few things! I really hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own the mentalist, even if i do occasionally have jisbon dreams. :P

We'll do it all,

Everything,

On our own.

~ Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol

Chapter 1

She tiptoed down the stairs, careful not to make a sound. Normally she hated being so small, but at times like this she was eternally grateful for her size; it made it easier to sneak around. Something she had to do a lot of these days. Trying not to sigh out loud she crept into the lounge, and tears sprang to her eyes at the scene. It had been like this for longer than she cared to remember, but for some reason every damn time she welled up. Tears of bitterness, she figured, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. It didn't matter, because the first time she'd seen it was the only time she'd ever actually cried, and the same day she'd promised herself that it would be the last.

Her father was sprawled on the couch, where her and Tommy, the eldest of the three boys, had managed to drag him last night. Tommy was only eleven, and she'd quickly shooed him off to bed once they were done. Lisbon hated that he had to see this, but she just couldn't move him by herself sometimes - though she was always tried alone at first. It was a relief to see that he hadn't been sick again, having cleared up the first three rounds last night it was a small blessing that that didn't have to be done, as well as everything else, before the boys were up. She froze as he mumbled something into a cushion on the couch, but he turned his head and settled again. A glance at the tiny clock propped up on the mantelpiece told her that it was already six o'clock and resisting the urge to swear she began quickly (but very, very quietly) picking up the bottles that she had missed last night. It had been dark, she'd staggered into the room, crumpling under her dad's weight. Once she'd sent Tommy off to bed she had started to round up a few, but she'd been out of energy. It drained her – he drained her, and she'd barely made it up the stairs before collapsing, exhausted, in her room. She watched the swirling liquid as she tipped the remnants of the bottles down the sink, wrinkling her nose at the bitter, foul smell of alcohol.

"Teri?" a muffled voice came from across the room, she closed her eyes, praying he wasn't awake yet. She moved out of sight and pressed her back to the wall, holding her breath. It was always a bad thing if he woke before they got out the house. Today though, it appeared she was lucky, and again, he slipped back into a deeper sleep. She slid down the wall, wrapping her arms around her knees, and resting her head on top. Just a minute, she told herself. Sometimes you just have to take a minute.

A few deep breaths later, she dragged herself off the kitchen floor, and got to work. She disposed of the empty glass bottles, washed up the rest of last night's dishes that she hadn't had the chance to finish before her father had stumbled in around midnight, and generally cleaned up. She barely had time to finish packing her brothers lunches before 7a.m. came round, and it was time to wake them up. Before she went upstairs she did a quick search to recover any booze she'd missed, finding a bottle or two hidden behind cushions and under furniture, and disposing of them. Then without any guilt whatsoever she raided his wallet, finding five dollars which would be enough to get her brothers some breakfast. Chances were he wouldn't miss it, and if he did, she'd take the rap once she got home.

She went into Tommy's room first, at eleven he was the oldest, and probably the one who kept her at least that little bit sane. "Hey you," she said, chucking a cushion at his face, "Time for school,"

He groaned and she smiled a little, "Come on," she said, sharply pulling his duvet clean off the bed. He groaned again and curled up in a ball, "I'm going to wake the others up, if I'm back and you're not up…" she warned,

"Mhmm," he mumbled, turning over.

She rolled her eyes, and went into the room directly opposite, to wake Jack and Benny up. Jack was nine, old enough to have vague memories of their mom dying, not old enough to completely understand what was happening and what was causing their father to fall apart. She sat on his bed, the lightest sleeper of the lot; he was the best at getting up in the morning. She shook his shoulder, "Time to get up," she said, and he half opened his sleepy eyes.

"Morning Ter," he whispered, granting her a sleepy smile.

"Morning," she whispered back, squeezing his shoulder. "When you're up, do me a favour and check that Tommy's up, kay?" He nodded, and started getting out of bed.

She then turned to the bed in the far corner of the room, where her youngest brother was still fast asleep. Her heart melted a little bit when she saw him, his smalls hands were clutching the duvet that was wrapped tightly around him.

"Benny?" she whispered, sinking down onto the bed next to him. He was so innocent, just five, he'd practically been a baby when mom died, and the only thing he understands about their father is that when he comes in yelling, it's time to hide. Sometimes it makes her sad that he'll never know what dad was like before, before mom died, before the drinking started. But what makes her sadder is that he'll only have the most vague, the most distant memories of their mother. He'll only ever have flashes, a scent, a word, a sudden burst of colour, the faint memory of a laugh. That his image of her would be fragmented - small snatches of what he actually remembered mixed with the longing of everything he wanted her to be. Like a dream - always doubting, it would be impossible for him to distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy. And at some points it'll feel as though she's so close he could touch her, that if he took a breath deep enough, he'd smell her scent mingled with that perfume she used to wear. But at others, she'll feel so far away he'll begin to doubt whether she even existed, when the memories and dreams are so faded it's like trying to watch a film where the sound is muffled, and the picture blurry.

"Benny," she said again, running a hand through his messy brown curls.

His fists unfurled, and the duvet around him loosened, "Tessa," he said, with a sleepy but all the same delighted tone.

"Hey," she said smiling, that tone never failed to put a smile on her face.

"Is it the weekend?" He mumbled,

"No honey," she laughed, "It's Friday, one more day, but it's time to get up,"

"Okay, is daddy home?"

"He's home, but he's sleeping, so we have to be super quiet, okay?"

"Okay," he whispered, as he sat up, leaning in for a hug. She wrapped her arms around the boy, taking a moment, breathing him in.

"Now, time to get dressed." She said, lifting him up off the bed and putting him on his feet. "Can you get your clothes out while I go check on your brothers?" At his drowsy nod, she headed next door, where she found Jack attempting to get Tommy up.

He was half awake, and was sat on the side of his bed, Jack turned to leave as he saw her come in, but she put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Dad's downstairs, and we don't want to wake him up, so we need to be quiet, okay?"

"Are we going to go straight to school again?" Jack asked,

"Yeah, that's right,"

"But, I'm hungry," he said, looking and feeling guilty for asking.

"I have some money; we can go to the store and get something to share,"

He nodded, and left. Tommy was wide awake now, and stood up to meet his sister. "Do you really have money?"

"I took five dollars from dad's wallet," she said in a way of an explanation.

"Okay," he yawned, stretching his arms out above his head.

"Sorry I had to wake you up last night,"

"It's okay,"

"Are you tired?" she asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"No," he lied, "I'm fine Teri, go help Ben,"

A hectic half an hour later, and she was shoving the three boys out the door, "Are you coming?" Tommy yelled behind as she lingered by the door,

"I'll catch up," she said, cursing herself for not being able to just walk out. "Just forgot something,"

Quickly, every second filled with self loathing, she ran to the kitchen, filled a glass of water, and got two aspirin out of the cupboard. Gently she set them down on the table next to the couch, and holding back more tears, she grabbed her bag and hurried out the door to run after her brothers.

The walk to her brother's school was only about ten minutes, with the store on the way, and once she'd dropped them off the walk to hers was only another five. But by the time she'd passed through the school gates she was already exhausted. "Late night Teri?" One of her best friends Alex asked as she approached her by the lockers.

"That obvious?"

"You look like crap," she stated.

"Gee, thanks," she moaned, secretly thankful for the normal banter between them.

"This will fix that," Cara said, shoving a coffee in her hand.

Lisbon threw the blue eyed girl a thankful look, and didn't waste any time in gulping it down, not caring that it burnt her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Cara asked her, she was the more caring of the two, Alex cared, but she was less open about it, more of a tough love kinda girl.

"I'm fine," she said, with a fake smile, "Just a little tired,"

She didn't look convinced, but she was too tired to really care about how effectively she was fooling two of her best friends.

"Where're Grace and Immy?" Alex asked,

"Not sure," Cara said, "Probably late,"

Lisbon half listened to the rest of their conversation, but was more concentrated on trying to balance her books in one hand and her coffee in the other – it was an art that took practice. She turned around, and with her eyes fixed on her books she did, so naturally it was a shock when a person appeared out of nowhere and slammed into her. "Shit," she said, as her books fell to the floor and hot coffee splashed across her top, "Ow," tears sprang to her eyes as the liquid burnt her arm and stomach. The day she'd had, she was ready to scream at whichever idiot had run into her. She looked up, with a death glare at the guy who had run into her. Alex and Cara had finished their conversation, and Alex was trying to hold back laughter, "Do you think he'll survive?" she whispered to Cara, who elbowed her in the ribs.

Stepping back, she got a better look at the guy, who, just to infuriate her more, was smiling down at her. "Sorry," he said cheerfully. What was wrong with this guy? "Are you okay?"

"No," she replied bitterly, "Coffee is hot."

"Let me see," he said, touching her burnt hand and lifting it up, the contact was unexpected, and it created involuntary butterflies in her stomach. Shocked, she lifted her eyes to meet his for a second, and she noticed the intense shade of blue of his eyes, something she hadn't paid enough attention to before. His short blonde curls were perfect with his smile, and for a second, she lost herself completely. She watched frozen as he gently examined her hand, and then, suddenly remembering herself, she pulled away.

"It's fine," she muttered, and bent to pick up the books she'd dropped, to her annoyance, he joined her.

She got up again, and prayed that he'd go away. "Are you new here? Haven't seen you around before," Alex asked from behind her, her tone in pre tease mode.

"Yes, just moved here, Patrick Jane."

"Alex Feldman," she smiled widely.

"Cara," she introduced herself, "And the one giving you the evils is Teri."

"Teresa," Lisbon corrected glaring at all three of them now.

"Don't worry, it means she likes you," Alex explained to Jane.

"Good to know," he said, smiling at Lisbon, whose expression didn't change.

"It was an accident Teri," Cara said, trying to calm her down.

"Ah it's okay, she's just tired, why did you get up so early?"

Her heart skipped a beat, how could he possibly know what time she got up? Well she wasn't going to let him win. "I didn't get up early, I got up at seven, like I do every day."

"Why are you lying about something so trivial?"

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are," he replied, ignoring her death glare, if looks could kill…

"Oh I like you," Alex said, smirking. Jane shot her a brief smile, but quickly turned his attention back to Lisbon, who had just ignored her in the first place.

"How would you know?"

"I just do."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I like you," he said,

"Well I don't like you," she stated.

"Because I spilt coffee down you?"

"Because I just don't."

"Don't worry, you will." He told her, beaming. "But right now, I really think we should do something about your hand,"

She looked at him as though he was insane, and it was all he could do not to laugh, oh, he thought, today was going to be fun.

I'm going to be honest with you all, i have 20,000 words of this written already, i've put a lot into this, and if you enjoyed it and want the next chapter, it's ready. Just please let me know, the more reviews, the sooner the next chapter comes! It's my evil process ;) Plus i would really appreciate the feedback :P

I really do hope you liked it, it'll get more exciting soon, promise.

Emily xxx