"It's not that bad." Tended to be Annie Parker's mantra, especially when it really was that bad.
"Move to a new town she says, it's not hat bad she says, it'll be fun she says!" Cried Reese - a little desperate, a little angry. "I bet this place is crawling with old people trying to sell you homemade candles."
Annie seemed to visibly deflate at that, it's not like she expected her daughter's to be happy about this move - heck she wasn't even happy - she just kind of thought they'd try and see the small town appeal she figured it'd have.
Without saying a word, Charlotte Parker rested her head against the window and casually watched as her sister grew into a pathetic pile of hysterics.
"Goatswood Connecticut population 187!" She blanched at the sign, her face contorted in a look of pure mortification. "Goatswood more like Ghost Town."
Charlotte was technically older than Reese by two years but Reese was taller and prettier and louder. Reese used to play soccer but she got hurt which ended her soccer career prematurely, now she kind of just complains about everything and for someone who doesn't even have a license she has really bad road rage.
"Guys I know this isn't exactly what you expected but let's try and make the best of it." Annie sighed, taking a peek in the rear view mirror to look at her youngest daughter, who had abandoned all notions of a seat belt and sat forward with her arms slung lazily over the drivers seat and passenger seat.
Reese rolled her eyes hard enough to pull a muscle, but decided to bite back the retort she felt working it's way up her throat.
"We're here." Charlotte - who up until that point had stayed silent - muttered softly. Annie attempted to giver her eldest daughter a smile, but Charlotte gave no indication that she saw it. Instead her eyes scanned the holed up and abandoned stores, graffiti lingering over every available inch of surface.
Reese shuttered but had enough sense to not go screaming about how the old people were coming and that they should roll up the windows because there was definitely something in their candles.
Instead she swallowed harshly, and scanned the seemingly deserted town for any sort of sign of life.
At the end of the abandoned shops sat a perfectly open and small coffee shop, almost as if it were untouched and safe and something definitely out of a horror movie.
"Ooh look at that!" Cried Annie enthusiastically.
"What is it? Actual proof people live here?" Reese asked sarcastically. Her arms crossed over her chest, eyes ablaze and consuming. Almost as if she were planning on tearing a hole through this town.
Charlotte let out a sharp breath when they arrived to their new house, it didn't look particularly terrible but when #haunted was sprayed across your door it also didn't look too nice either.
Before the car had come to a halt Reese threw the door open and was out of the car in a singular flash of movement. She may be broken but she was still fast.
"Reese! You know better than that! Just because the cast is off doesn't mean you can go jumping about willy nilly." Annie scolded sternly. Reese rolled her eyes but didn't say anything back.
Charlotte understands what Reese is doing, her foots not healed she won't let it. Instead she'll keep it as a reminder, she'll keep it as a reason to get angry, a reason to never stop.
When the car comes to a halt Charlotte undoes her seat belt and pushes the car door open. She picks up her bag - stickers and pins littering the strap - the clank of metal jingles in her ear as she pulls it over her head and lets it rest limply on her shoulder. She shuts the door behind her and follows her mother and sister inside.
Charlotte's first thought is that it smells like ash - like fire, like burning - and she wonders if that's permanent.
Reese and Charlotte were very different. The kind of different that makes you wonder if they were really the spawn from the same two people.
Where Reese's hair is a violent kaleidoscope of red, Charlotte has blonde hair that's closer to brown than anything - and what's the point of having blonde hair if it wasn't even the right color, she thinks cynically.
Someone once told Charlotte that she sort of looked like she went to bible camp and couldn't hold her coffee. Three days later she wonder's if it's an insult and when she asks her sister - god Charlotte are you dumb? Of course it's an insult!
"Hey, weirdo! I am going to explore, want to come?"
When Reese shows up in Charlotte's doorway with furry boots that travel up to her knees, a leather jacket, and googles Charlotte doesn't even look up.
"No, I think I am going to stay in and read." Charlotte offers weakly, holding up her book as if to provide proof.
"Suit yourself." Reese shrugs and doesn't ask again.
Reese's mission? To find a soccer field - if she can't play she'll watch - or a decent place to eat food, and other humans. Not specifically in that order.
All Reese managed to do was limp down the block a few ways before she realized she had no idea where she was, and not to mention she'd just passed a shop called the dungeon and who knows maybe it was a brothel.
She won't admit to herself that she's lost, won't give the town the satisfaction of knowing it was big enough to lose her, so instead of doing something a normal, rational, human being would do she keeps walking.
And when she finds a half-rotting convenience store that is very much not condemned and probably has cockroaches and strange, unidentifiable stains on the floor she pushes the door open the bell at the top of the door moves but doesn't jingle, like maybe it's lost it's sound to years of rotting and rusting.
It smiles like smoke, and only three-fourths of the building is lit up by light, and the first light is flickering, almost as if it were unsure. It smells kind of like an animal died in there and they covered it up with fabreeze.
And she slowly walks over to the rack closest to her and notices an array of candy bars she's never seen before, she picks up a 'pukwudgie' and wonders who was in charge of naming these. She grabbed two more and walks over to the counter where a single register sat.
Reese raised an eyebrow, she could probably leave right now, without even paying, nobody would ever know. The camera was probably broken anyways.
Instead she spots a bell sitting by the register and she reaches a hand out to ring it, and then again, and again until she's tapping out a little tune, a small smile tugging at her lips, eyebrows furrowed with concentration.
"Can you maybe not?" Comes the snappish growl from a tall - probably heels - girl snapping gum, her eyes are rimmed with dark and hr lips are a loud purple. Her hair is a blackish-blue sort of color, and half of it's shaved off. She's wearing a beetles T-shirt and a jean jacket, her nails black and chewed to the ends. She looked like she could use a cigarette. Did she smoke? Yeah she probably smoked.
"Sorry, I wouldn't have started playing with it if you haven't taken so long, I mean do you even know what costumer service is? And plus this place is gross." Reese began ready to go on a full rant about how this place really wasn't up too standards and shouldn't be selling food - that she was buying.
"You're a strange kid." The girl says, and Reese is almost positive she should be wearing a name-tag. She isn't.
"I am not strange." She insists casually, " Any decent person who gave any though about personal - or any type really - hygiene would agree with me. This place is unsanitary."
"Yupp, you're a strange kid." The girl confirmed before ringing up her candy bars.
"I am not, and I am not a kid. 15, so hah. In my limited experience with older human beings I like Charlotte better she doesn't talk back." Reese responded casually digging in her bag for another quarter.
"Oh and hypothetically speaking if someone were I don't know say accidentally lost, how do you think one should go about finding their house and or getting a map? Because said person is not lewis and Clarke and refuses to spend the next six months making maps." Huffed Reese, knowing she might be the only human she comes into contact today.
"This is all hypothetical of course?" The girl asks raising an eyebrow, she kind of looks like a Rachel, or maybe a Molly.
"Yes, yes of course." Reese responded eyeing Rachel/Molly curiously.
"Alright kid, where do you live?" Rachel/Molly asks and Reese visibly scoffs.
"How dare you suggest I am lost, that's positively ridiculous, I can't ev- erm by a lot of trees?" Reese mocked offense, but cave knowing she would get literally no where with this.
"My shift is over in twenty minutes, think you can wait that long?" Rachel/Molly asks.
"Definitely." Reese shrugs before hoping on the counter, already working on tearing open her first candy bar. "This is going to be a great friendship, I can already tell Rachel/Molly."
The girl rolled her eyes, she hoped up on the counter and snagged one of the girls candy bars. "It's Wendy, and don't look at me like that. There is literally a rack full of them over there."
"Whatever, I am Reese."
Hello, and welcome to another story I probably won't finish. Just kidding, I like this idea so I am going to stick with it. I hope you like Annie, Charlotte, and Reese. I am not sure if I think Reese and Wendy are going to fall madly in love or if I'll pair her up with Matt. Who knows. And true characters might seem a little ooc - cough Wendy cough - but it is an Au. I am however going to keep Matt and Jonah's characters hopefully the same, or really close to canon. Anyways thanks for reading and have a lovery day!