Side by Side
Rated M for some mature language, sensitive topics, mild suggestive themes, and mentions of implied abuse.
Yang breathed heavily and relaxed her fists as she stood before the motionless lump before her. Yang's hands were bloody and bruised, and her hair was mussed and frizzy. The dark hoodie she wore was torn at the sleeves, which showed off her powerful muscles that she had earned after dozens of fights. Such as the one that had just ended.
She pulled her hood back and shoved her hands in her pockets, but she only left when she spat on the loser she had just beaten. Yang took a shortcut through an alley to leave the scene, and she followed a series of twists and turns that she had gotten familiar with after nights like these. The air was cold and dry, and she paid little attention to the passing cars and homeless bums she walked past. Her head hurt; she pressed a hand to her temple and felt the tender bruise that was forming. That would hurt in the morning.
Whoop whoop. Weeeeooooeeeeeeoooo.
Yang began to curse under her breath when she heard the distinct sound of sirens pierce the cool October air of the city.
"Damn little fuck was still conscious," she muttered. Angry because she didn't finish the job properly, she quickened her pace from a walk to a jog, and then a full out run when the red and blue lights began to flash at the corners of her vision. She gasped until her sides began to ache, and she could've sworn that the pit of her throat tasted like blood, and she tried her best to stumble her way back to where she lived. But Yang was too tired to keep up at this pace for anything more than two minute increments, and the blows that she had taken had started to affect her. The dry air did little to help her breathing as she panted towards the stolen dump of an apartment she called home. But as her vision turned black, she could feel herself fall onto the cold, hard concrete, and the rough edges that scraped her skin as her head connected with the ground.
The murmuring of the police officers' conversations was the last thing she heard, and 'screw the world' was the last thing she had thought before she gave in to the tempting darkness.
When Yang came to, she was in a holding cell. The only reason why she knew she was in a holding cell was because she had already been in one several times. The blonde groaned as she lifted her head from the flat pillow someone had provided her, and she sat up. She held her fingers to the temples of her head and lightly them to get rid of the pounding sensation she had woken up to.
Someone had taken her hoodie off and had given her a new one. It was a light gray one that said "Boys' Rec Soccer League 2008" and had been worn quite well. Yang combed through her golden locks to untangle them, and she noticed that a bottle of water had been set aside near her seat. She picked it up and twisted it open with ease, and Yang poured a bit of water on her hands and spread it over her face to freshen up and hopefully get rid of this headache. Memories of last night's brawl flooded her mind, and she could easily picture the broken nose and black eyes that she had bestowed upon that guy. She felt her face with her hands and winced when she pressed too hard over her cheek bone. She had a bruise there. He went down with a fight. That was certain.
Yang heard someone open a door, and soon an officer appeared at the entrance of her cell. He was a dark haired man with a chiseled jaw and a military-like posture. He looked sternly down upon Yang, and Yang stared back defiantly. Her eyes were practically red. She was ready for another fight. This stupid police guy wouldn't beat her.
He unlocked the door of her cell and calmly strode in. He didn't bother to shut the door behind him, and Yang briefly contemplated the thought of breezing by him to escape. She knew that he would most likely catch her before she even took two steps, but it didn't stop her from trying.
"Oof," she wheezed as she was hurled back against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her, and the policeman shook his head in disappointment.
"Well I'll be damned, Miss Yang Xiao Long. When Officer Schnee told me that she had a teenager in the back, you were the first person I thought who would be in there."
"Fuck off, chief," Yang barked, clearly embarrassed that her escape plan, as unrealistic as it was, had failed. The police chief merely gave Yang a look before he continued on.
"Did you run from your new family again?"
"Did you honestly think I'd give a shit about my "new family" that you oh so kindly recommended to the foster system, Ironwood?" Yang shot back, making tiny air quotations when she said 'new family.' She tossed her hair and huffed as she crossed her arms and looked to the side, a bitter expression on her face. "Horny older brother of mine wanted to screw me. Had me cornered in his bedroom and took out his damn penis from his pants. So I slugged him across the room and made sure he was taught a lesson, and I went back to the old apartment."
Chief Ironwood wasn't ruffled by this or by Yang's sailor mouth. He was quite used to dealing with the troubled teen, and with each interaction he found out a little more about her. Yang's parents had split up which left Yang in her father's care, and later she had a stepmother, and eventually a younger half-sister named Ruby. Her parents then had died in a car crash, and with their only close relative being an alcoholic who worked odd jobs and lived in his car, the two half-sisters were put up for adoption. Unfortunately, Ruby had been adopted without Yang, and Yang was put into the foster care system. Ever since she had been separated from Ruby, Yang was always in some sort of trouble, and that often landed Yang here. In this same holding cell that caged her flaming heart.
The chief did his best not to meddle too much into private affairs, but he could see that Yang was different from any other hoodlum in the street. She had a certain fire about her that never seemed to dim, and she could charm people, which easily led her to having connections with all sorts of people on the street. Yang was a girl who could take care of herself. If only she would allow herself to, however.
Chief Ironwood sat on the hard bench and grasped his hands together as he looked at the teenage delinquent. She'd already gotten in so much trouble, and she was nearly an adult. Which reminded him of something.
"You could be tried as an adult at this point, Yang," he murmured into his hands. "I don't want to see that happen to you." Yang scoffed.
"You just don't want to see my face anymore. Your little threat doesn't scare me."
"I'm serious, Yang. Along with your current record and the way you're headed now in life, it seems that you'll be behind bars. I hate to see that sort of thing happen to a kid."
"There… is an alternative path for you to take, however," he continued, slowly bringing up an option that he thought may work for the blonde girl.
"Community service?"
"No," the chief said, "a change in environment. There is a host family system that I could get you into, and you can heal in a different setting. Most likely you would be sent to the countryside in the South." Yang gave the chief a crazed look.
"You mean I'll be living with damn rednecks and hillbillies? Um, no fuckin' way I will." Time to bring out the big guns.
"The man you assaulted has decided to press charges against you. It's either you go through with this program or face going through court as an adult. And believe me, it's harder to get away with something when you're tried as an adult. I'd think about this opportunity before I make any hasty decisions." He left those words in the air and exited the room to let them sink into the brawler's head. Hopefully she was only misguided and not stupid.
Even after Ironwood left, Yang still found herself staring after the man. And she began to think.
Living with a bunch of bucktoothed farmers and pigs? Hell no.
Facing charges as an adult? Even Yang knew enough to know that was worse than playing with some chickens.
Maybe she could teach a goat how to shove its horns up Ironwood's ass after she finished this 'healing program.'
Maybe. It sounded good to her.
And just maybe she could run off again and try to find Ruby. Yeah, that would work.
This could be a good opportunity to break free from this shithole of a city.
Blake closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, the fresh air of the trees and the wind soothing her instantly. She placed her hands on the railing of the porch and stood still for several minutes as she enjoyed the silence. It was an early morning for the town of Menagerie, and the sun hadn't quite peeked out from the horizon yet, as it was late fall. Blake could hear the rustling of the leaves as they fell from trees, and she could feel her bangs tickle her ears as a breeze made them shift. It was a peaceful and healing effect. This was her home.
Blake opened her eyes, and giving the view one more glance, she retreated back into her house to get ready for school.
Her room's walls were the same color as the day she had been brought into this house. They were painted a lovely lilac that, as it happened, turned out to be her favorite color. She had a window on the west side of her room, and sheer white curtains were hung above it and tied back neatly to allow any light in her room in the evening. As for her bed, she had recently chosen a new, warm bedspread with a violet, white, and black circle pattern to sleep with. It was cozy, and it would keep her warm when winter arrived. A rug was placed in front of the bed, and across was a vanity that Blake used to store bobby pins, hair ties, brushes and her make up. It had a large ornate mirror with chipped gold paint, and it had quite a few drawers. She had gotten it at a yard sale some time ago and planned to refurnish it to match the theme of her room.
Blake went to her closet and opened it, scanning her eyes for a new outfit of the day. She finally settled on an oversized red flannel shirt that she loved, a pair of dark jeans with a few stylish rips on the thighs and knees, and a pair of her favorite black Converse that her mother had told her to throw away.
She changed over quickly, and she made her way to her vanity and began to apply mascara, eyeliner, and lavender eye shadow, a tube of strawberry lip balm finishing the job. She left her hair alone and only used a few bobby pins to tuck a few loose strands behind her ear. Satisfied with her appearance, Blake grabbed her bookbag and slung it over her shoulder to go to the kitchen.
Her mother was still getting ready for the morning, and her father had already left to go to work earlier.
"Good morning, Mom." Her mother, Kali, was in front of the refrigerator and was thinking about what to make for breakfast, and so she didn't answer her daughter. Blake tried again.
"Mom, good morning." This time Kali heard her, and the older woman raised her head and greeted her daughter back.
"Morning, Blake. What do you want for breakfast today? It'll have to be something fast, because I'm running a little bit late today. Eggs?" Blake shook her head and reached to grab an apple on the counter.
"I'm fine. Go to work. I still have a lot of time before I have to go to school anyways." Her mother gave her daughter a relieved look, and she rushed off to fetch her purse and keys.
"Will you feed the cat?" Kali shouted from her room.
"I will!" Blake shouted back, and she went to the pantry to find Neon's bowl and fill it with cat food. Blake shook the bowl gently to make noise, and she called for the cat to come to the kitchen. Soon, a russet-furred cat with a long tail emerged from the doorway and padded over to Blake. Blake set down the bowl and crouched down to rub Neon's head affectionately, a purr rising deep from the throat of the cat.
"Who's a good kitty?" Blake asked the feline. Neon looked up at her with viridian green eyes and promptly went back to eating. Blake sighed and stood up, and she washed her hands and her apple.
Blake sat down at the table and slowly took a bite out of the crunchy fruit, and she mindlessly watched the sun rise from the kitchen window. There were a few clouds outside, but the red morning sun seemed to paint them with deep pink and orange colors. It was quite beautiful, in all honesty.
"Alright, I'm off to work. Have a nice day, sweetie!" her mom said as she headed out the door. Blake smiled and waved, her mouth full of apple, and soon she was alone in the house with only Neon for company.
Little did she know that her peaceful mornings would be interrupted within the next few hours.
"Do you need anything?"
"Fuck off."
"You need a new attitude."
"You need a new comeback." Yang scowled and slouched into her seat as the chief sipped on a cup of alcohol. The tall man raised his eyebrow and downed the rest of his cup, setting the glass down on the small tray before him.
"Miss Xiao Long, please make yourself decent before meeting your host family. I imagine that they wouldn't take too kindly to having a delinquent on such short notice who wouldn't want change." Well, it wasn't like she wanted change in the first place. She was fine as she was, and she was proud of the person she became. She just needed to find Ruby.
Yang decided to keep quiet for now, and she looked out the window and observed the tiny ponds, woods, and fields they flew over. There was a lot of green, and there were splashes of brown here and there from the deciduous oaks and harvested fields. Booooring.
"I think you'll find North Carolina to be a refreshing start for you. I hear that there are several events you can attend, such as the farmers' markets, music festivals, the many conventions held in its capital, and such things like that."
"Where am I even going to live?" Yang murmured, her lilac eyes not moving from the window.
"An hour away from Raleigh, in a town called Menagerie. It has a population of about 3,000 persons, if I remember correctly from the description." Chief Ironwood paused, then decided to try to make conversation with this girl.
"Your host family has another girl your age," he said. Yang offered a grunt in response, and the chief tried again.
"Your high school is a bit smaller than you're used to. It has about 460 students."
"Per grade?"
"In total." Yang did the math in her head and found that her class was approximately 115 students. This meant that everyone knew each other, and they probably attended the same elementary and middle schools.
Too bad these suckers wouldn't get to know her.
When Blake returned home after a day of school, her mom greeted her with a strange smile and her favorite tuna casserole. Thinking nothing of it, Blake went into her room, only to find a hooded figure sitting on her bed. She couldn't see the person's face, but she did see the blond curls that escaped from the hood.
Blake stared at the girl for a few more seconds, and she turned around right back to the kitchen.
"Mom, there's a girl in my room."
"I know, dear."
Blake waited, and the atmosphere became more and more tense. Her mom fixed a plate of the casserole for Blake and offered it to her daughter with that same smile.
'Sheepish,' Blake realized, 'her expression is sheepish.' Then it clicked, and Blake's jaw dropped.
"Mom… you didn't…"
"I'm sorry, sweetie. But I got a call from Pyrrha's mom about a troubled girl who needed a host family, and the one she was going to live with had family member die. They were unable to take care of her, and if she didn't live with them then she would be tried as an adult in court-" Blake ran out of the room before her mom could explain further, and she flung open the back door, letting the screen door slam shut behind her. She sprinted towards where the chickens were and slowed to a stop as she let all this information sink in.
Her mom, her sweet, caring mother, had decided to take in another girl. Blake didn't know where she came from, and she didn't care why she came, but the one thing that she did care about was the word that popped into her mind with big bubble letters: SISTER.
Needless to say, Blake wasn't happy one single bit.
Meanwhile in Blake's room, Yang felt the same.
