A/N - Thanks for reading in advance! I don't own Lost Boys, or the quote, but I own Sam and the other OC's in this story. All of this is obvious, so let's get into it, shall we? ;].

"When I was in a room with another person, I felt like I was only half there. When I was in a room with two other people, I felt like a third of myself. When I was in a room with three other people, I felt like a quarter of myself. And when I was in a whole crowd of people, I felt like nobody." -The Quiet, 2005

Samantha Brooks leaned her head against the window of the Oldsmobile, her hood pulled over her head and arms crossed. She glanced at the giant billboard approaching, which read 'WELCOME TO SANTA CARLA' in yellow and red letters. As they passed, she craned her neck backwards, reading the graffiti on the back of the sign which read 'MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD'. She sighed, believing it was just some vandals who decided they wanted to scare away some of the tourists. Well, she wouldn't fall for it. Little did she know how true that text was.

Sam was born July 2nd, 1970, which made her 17 years old. Her dirty-blonde, shoulder-blade lenth hair was resting on her shoulders as she situated her hood on top of her head. Her two hazel eyes looked more green than brown today, they seemed to switch on and off between more green, more brown, or an equal mix on random days. Sam wasn't anything special. She wasn't beautiful or popular or incredibly intelligent, she was kind of pretty to some, and not so good looking to others. She had an average build, she was 5'7" and weighed in at 140 pounds. Most of the girls at her old high school in Nevada looked down at her with their stunning blue eyes and amazing model figures. She wasn't even truly bullied much, she was just ignored.

She had some friends at her old school, she wasn't a complete outcast but she was definitely on the lower scale of the 'High School social ladder'. She wouldn't consider them especially close to her, though. She would hang out with them once in a while, but she preferred the company of her 5 year old grey and brown Tabby cat, Felix, along with a good book or video tape. She was an introvert, mostly.

Sam's dad passed away five months ago. Before that, he and Sam's mom had been divorced since she was 4, and Sam lived with him. Somehow, her dad manipulated the courts into thinking he was better suited to care for Sam than her mother was. Sam couldn't exactly say that she missed her dad. She knew it was a horrible thing to say, so she never spoke it aloud, but she didn't really care that he was gone. He never liked her. Perhaps she looked too much like her mother, whom he despised after she was born.

Sam snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her mom's voice next to her in the driver's seat.

"Alright, sweetheart! We're here!" She looked towards her mother, whom she just met for the first time in 11 years (her father allowed visits for two years after the divorce, but then he decided to cut the visits off completely when Sam was 6), and pasted on a slight smile. Her mom was beaming. Sam remembered when she first saw her mother before they left on her journey 5 hours ago, from Carson City, Nevada, to Santa Carla, California.

Sam glanced around the supermarket in Carson City. Holding the sleeping Felix close to her, she peered around the store. She was near the door, but could smell the fresh produce from the large section in front of her. She could pick out the delicious smells of the fresh berries and melons the best. She always remembered this place from her childhood, it had been around since she was 2. It was her father's sole place to shop for groceries, due to their cheaper prices. It was hard to believe that this was the last time she would be in it, probably ever. She was just waiting for Karen - mom - to arrive. Her father had always called Sam's mom by her first name since the divorce. He didn't want Sam to get any emotional attatchments to her since the visits were cut off in 1978.

After the car crash that broke Sams right wrist and nose, and took her father's life, people expected her to cry, to want support, something. But nothing really seemed to change for her, besides the fact that her father was no longer in her life. Sure, this was supposed to mean immense changes in Sam's life, and it surely did, but she couldn't even realize it then.

She lived for two long weeks with her dad's sister, Erica, a single mother with five boys. She spoiled her sons rotten, but absolutely hated Sam. She constantly blamed her for her father's death, even though it was a completely seperate drunk driver who caused the crash. She got the boys - aged 5 to 18 - into hating her too. Sam didn't blame Erica, she went through a nasty divorce and had these devils doing shit around the neighborhoof that constantly got them and her into trouble. But she just wished her aunt could have been a little more understanding. When it was found out that Sam's mom gained custody and was driving up to retrieve her, Aunt Erica was whooping with joy all day. She sped to the grocery store, telling Sam to her face that she wanted her off her hands as soon as possible.

She borrowed the grocery store Customer Service desk's phone to inform her mother of where she was. Her mother cheerily answered that she was now only 20 minutes away, and she would be there soon.

She stared out the window of the store for the entire 20 minutes it took before she saw a grey Oldsmobile pull out into the parking lot. Sam glanced at her watch: 4:57. She was pretty sure this was the woman she would now be calling 'mom'. The car honked, which her mother said over the phone that she would do, so Sam picke up her single duffel bag along with Felix and walked over to the car.

Before stepping in, she peered into the passenger's side window, earning a friendly smile from a blonde woman (who's hair was the exact same shade as Sam's) with pretty blue eyes. Her teeth shone white, accentuating her prett, slightly round face. Sam wondered how she, an average girl, came from such a beautiful woman.

Sam smiled back, being unable to help herself. Her mother's smile was infectious, apparently, and Sam all of a sudden felt a pinge of excitedness when she realized she was about to start a new life in the glamorized world that was California. She realized, when she smiled, it was the her first real smile in months.

"Is it okay that I have my cat?" she asked shyly.

"Yes, of course! I love animals!" Her mother exclaimed brightly

She opened the passenger's door a slid in, placing her small duffel bag on the floor. Felix was awake by now and crawled into the back seat to lie down. She buckled up and her mother started to drive.

"Hey, Sam!" Her mother said, excitedly. Sam glanced over at her, murmering a small 'hey'.

"I cannot believe how long it's been, after everything that happened..." Her mom's voice began to trail off, but came back to life at the end. "I thought about you everyday day, you know? Oh, man, that sounded tacky, huh? But it's true. A mother's love never falters."

Sam grinned shyly. She liked her mom's apparent sense of reality, and she automatically knew that, if her dad hadn't gotten in the way, her mother would have seen her as often as possible. She tried not to think about that, usually, how things could have been. Right now she was just focusing on the present and future. As much as she felt in her gut and heart that things were going to turn out well and everything would turn out aright, her head screamed that nothing would ever be alright again. Not after her father had her for all these years. Not after everything was taken away from her. She deserved it anyway. She wasn't anything. She was stupid, disgusting, annoying. Her mother snapped her out of her dull, drained thoughts.

"I'm so glad to have you back again. Santa Carla is great. I don't have a fancy house or anything, but it's right near the boardwalk and you can walk there in, like, five minutes. It's great!" She exlaimed. "I hope your happy to be with me... I'm sure what happened with your father must have taken it's toll on you." Sam couldn't help but hear the poorly-hidden venom in her mom's voice as she said the word 'father'. She whipped her head toward her mother.

"No," she said firmly. "I'm glad to be with you. Santa Carla could be a new start for me. It's what I need. And I'm glad to be with you. Maybe we could catch up on some lost time, huh?" She smiled gently at her mom, who seemed to relax.

"Oh, yes. I can't wait! I'm so glad you're willing to accept me. I understand it must have been hard without me..." she started. Sam cut her off.

"That wasn't your fault. It was Dad's. Let's just focus on now, right? We'll be together from now on." she said.

Her mother smiled warmly at her. As much as Sam loved seeing her mom happy, even though she hadn't seen her in over a decade, she still couldn't get that feeling she thought she would. She still felt empty inside, alone. She wcouldn't shake it, so she needed to hide it. If she told people, she would get hurt. She couldn't let that happen anymore.

The rest of the car ride was spent with small talk, Sam and her mother's interests, favorites, hobbies, etc. They got to know each other a little bit before they reached the outskirts of Santa Carla 5 hours later.

Sam looked up at the simple, single-story house that lay in front of them. It was painted a simple white, with a a black door and multiple windows with peeling paint. The yard was shadded by trees and there was a well-kept, small garden in the front hosting multiple fruits and vegetables. It wasn't a big place, like her mother had informed her, but it was the homiest place she had ever seen. She grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her. She also opened the back door, allowing Felix to jump out and instinctively follow her. The two had been attatched at the hip for three years now, after Sam found him wandering the streets. She started to walk, but her mother stopped her by gently taking one of her arms. Sam's immediate reaction was to pull it away, but her mother didn't notice. She looked her daughter up and down.

"My, you are beautiful," she said. She knew it was just mother's pride talking, she wasn't that special. Plus, she had a huge bruise still lingering under her eye from the car accident, as well as one on her lip. Her nose was also bruised, although the bandage covering it was removed a couple days ago. Her cheeks flushed, anyway. She slowly rubbed the hard cast that was supporting her broken wrist. "What did I do to deserve a girl like you?" She gently took Sam in her arms and hugged her.

Sam's heartbeat started racing, her breathing uneven. She tryed to keep it hidden as she slowly pulled herself away and turned around, but her mother knew something was up.

"Honey? Are you alright?" She frowned, alarmed by her daughter's response.

"What?" Sam laughed shakily, trying to hide her reaction. "Yeah, I'm fine! Why?" She asked, trying to calm herself down.

It's alright, she said mentally, silently breathing in and out. Nothing is going to happen. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine.

She smiled up at her mother, who was about two inches taller than her, more convincingly this time. She managed to calm herself down a little. Her mother relaxed a little bit, but the look of concern didn't disappear completely.

"Alright," she said hesitantly. She tried to continue on more cheerily. "Well, let's go show you your new room! It's bare right now, you can decorate it any way you like."

The woman led the girl through the old black door, where they turned right, went through the little living room with a small TV and large, blue rug with black couches, to a door.

"Go on in, get yourself settled. I'll make us some early dinner, then I can give you the tour, and you can go to sleep early tonight. I know it's been a stressful day," she said, turning towards what was presumably the kitchen. Sam picked up her cat, turned the golden doorknob, and walked into her room. Closing the door behind her, she let Felix down, who trotted over to the bed and jumped on it, curling himself up on one side and falling asleep, gently purring as he did so.

Like her mother said, it was bare, but Sam thought it was nice and cozy. There was a full sized bed in the back left corner, with blue and white linens. The walls were a dark cream color, and there was a desk with a mirror and lamp in the back right corner. There was a set of shelves on the wall, a dresser, and a small closet. On the wall between the bed and desk, there was a door identical to the one leading into her room. Sam opened it to find her own, small bathroom. She was happier than she had been in a while. Well, not completely happy, but quite content. She unpacked the small amounts of clothing and two pairs of shoes from her bag and put them in the drawers and closet. She ut other things like her toothbrush and brush into her bathroom. She decided to put on her pajamas, since she wasn't going out tonight.

As she slipped on her huge Metallica shirt, which went down to almost her knees, and slipped into bed next to Felix to await her mother's call for dinner. Little did she know, after she got under the covers and her head hit the pillow, she would be out like a light.

Thanks so much for reading! Sorry if this chapter was a little boring and/or slow, I just wanted to get some backstory out of the way. The next chapter will be better, with mention of the boys, promise! I try to make the story equally about the canons if I have an OC, so there wil be chapters where it is in their PoV's as well. Hope you enjoyed! And PLEASE REVIEW! xx (: .