Authors Note

So first of all, I'm new to this site. Hi, what's up. And this site is confusing af for me cuz I'm dumb. So if I screwed things up, I'm sorry just point it out, I'm a-learnin. So I uploaded this story from my Wattpad account (which is under my user Painful_Daydream) and Wattpad is definitely easier than this site, this site is intimidating. Now, I've edited this story thousands of times and I will probably Edit it a thousand times more, that's the price for perfection so bear with this story. I also go to school, since I'm 16 and I deal with a lot of stress and I relieve stress by sleeping, so this book always gets updated slowly and will still have a lot of errors no matter how many times I read it over (cuz I'm always tired), again bear with it. The reason I'm uploading this here is because Wattpad is...childish. It's nice but it's full of immature children commenting "YoUr'E sUcH aN aMaZiNg WrItEr!1!" on legit every story even if it just says "Hi". I want this story to succeed and I feel this site is the only place it will; I want there to be constructive criticism and help with this along with the positive feedback I normally get. This book is rated M for much later chapters as this story progresses deeper and deeper into some deep shlit. So here is my fanfiction, I hope you like it, please proceed to the story. Also theres a kind of important informational chapter on my Wattpad version of this so if you are able to check it out please do, cuz i cant post it here, it gives you oportunities for some stuff in the book.


The engine of the shiny blue Impala sputtered to a stop as she pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. This was the end. The end of everything I had known before this moment: my parents, my home, the System; everything was being replaced, and the woman sitting in the driver's seat was the one to blame. This woman knew everything about me, through my files. She knew my name, how old I was, where I grew up, why I was in the System to begin with, and so much more. She knew everything about me, yet I was still clueless to anything about her. All I knew was that she was now my adoptive mother, and that was exactly what she expected me to call her: mother. Though what was so special about her? Why should I call her 'mother' when I hadn't even forgotten about my real one? What made her son so special either? Why should I treat him like he was my real sibling when he was just some stranger? What made these two people so extraordinary that I had to replace what I knew for what they have?

So here I am, giving up my old hometown of Tuskbury for this small little cul-de-sac in Peach Creek. Though, I guess I already gave it up when I was thrown into the System. Still, Tuskbury was and forever will be the place I call home, and a short, dead end road and a junkyard will never change that. 'The System', by the way, is what I know Foster Care as. Since it's a very personal subject that I absolutely hate, I refer to it as nothing more than a system that tosses me from one Hell into another.

I gazed out the clear window of the car at the few houses that surrounded me. Welcome to your new Hell, kiddo. I stepped out of the vehicle, looking around the unfamiliar neighborhood. It divided into two different colors: red and blue, thanks to the 3D glasses that have come to be a part of me and my everyday appearance. They rested on the bridge of my nose, pushed up to hide my eyes from strangers. They-well, the glasses I had before them- had rested in this same position since they had been put on all those years ago. Christmas of 2005, when I was only 5 years old, was when the whole thing started. My father had given me a pair of 3D glasses as a present. It was meant to be a joke, since he called me his little geek, but it evolved into so much more. After his disappearance I never let the glasses come off, since they were his special gift to me and he was gone. Soon, of course, my old pair began to tear and to save them from destruction I replaced them with my new pair of GoPro glasses. They weren't the ones my father had given me, but they still represented him and my childish personality.

Ms. Kingsley spoke from behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. She stood at the back of the car, digging through the trunk as she talked, "So what do you think, Kassie?" That's me, Kassie Duncan, and it really was. After adoption she still allowed me to keep my birth name, that being one of the few things I could keep from my life before. I gave up my expensive possessions, forked over half my personality, and completely forgot all emotions, save sadness and anger. This lady seemed very pushy, so it was surprising that she didn't force me to alter my name.

I decided not to answer her question and kept my mouth shut, averting the woman's gaze and pretending to find interest in my faded and sharpied Converse. I didn't want to speak; not to her, not to her son, not to anyone. I don't need to talk to them and I don't want to.

She replaced her happy smile with one of pity. My silence was a confirmation of my sadness and fear of the world. She knew what I had gone through before I ended up in the System, but was willing to let life take its chosen course for me. She promised she wouldn't get in the way of it, as long as I promised not to let it get the best of me.

"Well, Kassie, how about we just get you to your room, okay?" she said in a cautious tone, afraid that if she said the wrong thing I'd freak out and go mental. I just nodded as she grabbed my 2 boxes out of the back of the car. These two boxes were my whole life, holding the few possessions I had left: clothes, a few stuffed animals, and my skateboard. I followed her to the front door, re-positioning my bag that hung down across my shoulder and bounced against my leg as I walked.

I looked out at the new neighborhood, catching a couple stares from the other kids that resided here. A breeze blew through the air and lifted my locks of hair that weren't pinned down by my hat. It felt different...different than what I was used to. It told me there was no going back; no going back home or back to how it was.

I entered the house after the woman's son opened the door and jumped back over the couch. "Thank you, Kevin. For once you actually decide not to be a brat." The boy just rolled his eyes and went back to playing video games with his friend, she of which scolding him for being so rude.

I took a moment to look around. The house wasn't as big as I had expected. A small living room was to my right, two couches turned away from the rest of the house and facing a flat-screen. A collection of electronics sat on the shelves below the TV, including a PS4, controllers, DVDs and a Blu-ray player. A hallway separated the living room from the kitchen, which held a breakfast bar, several colorful chairs, and a dining table. The house smelled of cinnamon and mint, reminding me of Christmas and the times my father took me to the store and we'd smell all the candles and other various things to make me smile. The house was peaceful and didn't seem to have intentions of hurting me, but it reminded me of home, so no matter how much it tried it would always hurt. Though it made me feel safe, and the longer I stood the more at home I felt. Still, no matter how beautiful it was or how safe it made me feel, I never wanted to call it home. Nor would I want to call the boy my brother or his mother mine. I wanted to forever be separated from this family.

"Kevin, get off the game and go do something productive!" the boy's mother yelled at him. He complained about it but did what his mother told him. He passed me on his way to the door, giving me a disgusted look. His friend, on the other hand, smiled and waved. Then they were gone, out into the hot, sticky hell known as summer.

"You'll have to excuse Kevin," Ms. Kingsley apologized as we walk toward the stairs, "He wasn't very psyched about having a younger sister when I first told him about you, and I guess he still feels the same way." She stopped halfway up the stairs to look at me. I just nodded. The statement didn't really affect me, it actually made me kind of happy. I didn't want to call him my brother, and he didn't want to call me his sister, and I was fine with that.

She placed yet another pity smile on her face (I wish she'd stop doing that) as we proceeded up the stairs. We reached the top and took a left, walking to the end of the hallway. I let my hand slide against the smooth polished wood of the banister as I walked. She stopped in front of the last door and opened it, providing me enough room to peek my head in. It was a very confusing sight at first but then I started giggling.

The room was an average sized room with cream colored walls, a wooden dresser, and Invader Zim bedspread that went along with a twin size bed. It was pretty nice, considering what I was used to, but at the same time, everything was funny, because the room was trashed. The big wall on the opposite end of the room was covered in newspapers and vandalized with the word "Dork" both spray painted and sharpied in all different colors (references). My Invader Zim bedspread sat halfway on the floor with dirt streaks and an unknown substance, equivalent to oatmeal, smothered on top. Both windows were dark with no sun shining through, and it took me a moment to realize that they were painted over with black paint. The carpeted floor had a collection of feathers in the center and more of them fluttered down from the ceiling, where all 6 1/2 pillows were duct taped and torn open. Where the other half of the 7th pillow was, I had no idea. Ms. Kingsley growled, "Kevin". And this is the reason we specifically asked to stay an only child!

Ms. Kingsley sighed and pulled the door shut, almost slamming it. "Okay, Kassie. I guess you'll just have to sleep on the pullout downstairs for a few nights until Kevin cleans your room." She starts mumbling to herself about Kevin being a 'disrespectful little brat' as she moves past me to the room on my right. Setting my boxes down in a corner by the closet, she lets out a sigh of relief and faces me. "Alright, kiddo, I have to leave in a few minutes to run some errands. The bathroom is right down the hall, across from your room if you need to go." she moves around the room to grab some things she needs, rattling off the do's and dont's of living here. "I don't care what you do while I'm gone, but please don't go in your room until your brother cleans it. You can watch T.V. if you want and you can play any of Kevin's video games. If he comes home and tells you to get off, tell him payback's a bit...scratch that, just tell him to shut up. You can go play outside as long as you get back here before 9:00." She bent down and kissed my forehead then stood there awkwardly for a second, processing what she did and how I would take it. When I didn't react, she just shrugged and moved on with her getting around.

Blech. I wiped the kiss from my forehead with the back of my hand and walked over to the box containing my skateboard. I pulled it out and opened my bag that now rested on the ground. From it, I pulled out my blue Nintendo 3DS and a black sharpie marker, both of which found their way into the butt pocket of my black skinny jeans.

I ran for the stairs, skipping steps when I went down and trying my best to get out of the house before it killed me. I zoomed past the dining room where Ms. Kingsley was getting ready to leave. She noticed my hasty escape and tried asking for a favor. "Hey, if you see Kevin tell him I want his butt home!" she yelled, but I said nothing as I slammed the door closed behind me.

The humid summer air hit me a few seconds late, sending little beads of sweat down my face by the time I made it to the street. After taking a moment to catch my breath I started off down the road on my skateboard and pulled out my 3DS, turning it on and waiting for it to load. I know it's a bad idea to not pay attention when you're skateboarding, especially in the street, but I don't really care what could happen to me. In this world everything is bad and for a daredevil like me, it's fun to have a play date with danger once in a while. Though, I did look up once or twice, just to make sure I wasn't about to get hit by a semi-truck or fall into a pit of snakes or anything else my imagination could conjure up.

On my way back to the beginning of the dead end street, when my game finally opened and the menu screen popped up, I felt my body collide with something else. My DS dropped from my hands and skidded across the pavement. I, along with my victim, let out a yelp as we hit the ground. I laid there for a fraction of a second before rolling over onto the asphalt and resting on my butt, looking over to see what I hit. Lo and behold, it was a human; a boy to be exact. His shiny, spiky, black hair lay somewhat limp on his face, which was contorted into a look of pain. He looked about my age, 14, but maybe a year younger. I pushed myself up from the ground and held my hand out to the boy. "You OK?" I asked.

He growled, "I swear I'm going to kill whoever-,". He never finished his threat after his eyes opened and he saw me. He said "Whoa" instead and finished with a drawn out laugh. Sighing, I retracted my arm back to my side, rolling my eyes as I did.

"MINECRAFT!" A boy shouted from behind me and I turned to look at him. A ginger boy with a unibrow stooped and picked up my game. He took out the pic and repeatedly tapped it against the screen, his hand becoming a blur from how fast it moved. He laughed a weird laugh, obviously amusing himself.

A boy that stood next to the ginger spoke up, "Ed, that doesn't belong to you. You know very well you shouldn't play with things that aren't yours." He gingerly placed his hand on the side of the electronic, hoping to gently pull it from his friend's hands, but to no avail. The big one was much too interested to give it up. I looked the smaller one up and down, taking notice of his knee-high, red socks that were mostly covered by his purple cargo shorts, and a black beanie that matted a few strands of black hair against his forehead. He looked oddly out of style for a boy, and much different from the normal clothing that his companions wore. Though, I'm sure my appearance must have been a much stranger sight compared to his. The one was obviously laughing at it.

He caught my eye and smiled, politely waving and chuckling a little. I didn't know how to react to him so I just stood there awkwardly, still staring at him.

The boy behind me finally pushed himself off the ground and gasped for air from how much he had been laughing...which he was still doing. "Man you're more of a loser than I am," he wheezed out.

"EDDY!" The beanie-headed boy yelled out. He placed his hands on his hips and scolded his friend's actions, "She only just moved to Peach Creek. For once, can't you shove your outrageous, offensive, loud-mouthed, disappointing behavior out of the way and welcome her to the cul-de-sac like a decent human being?"

"Pfft, c'mon Double D, she's a dork!" He apparently found his words amusing, as he fell back and started to laugh again.

I growled and marched over to him, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and holding him up to eye level. "You know what laughing is for, you little pipsqueak? Laughing is for something that's funny. You're not funny. Your stature may be but you yourself are pathetic, so I'll give you a piece of advice: if you laugh more at yourself and how much of a jerk you are, everyone's lives would be a hell of a lot easier." He growled at my words but decided to laugh instead as he looked me over once again.

I sighed and dropped him, letting him fall onto his back on the asphalt. Dragging my skateboard behind me on the ground, I walked over to the ginger for my DS. I wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall. My emotions were already unstable to begin with and this situation wasn't helping. The ginger saw me wipe my eye and decided to wrap his big arms around me, squeezing me into a hug. "Do not cry little human for Ed is here to protect you!"

I heard the boy 'Double D' gasp, "Oh boy, Ed, I don't think she can breathe."

Eddy spoke up from behind him, "C'mon, Monobrow, drop the little nerd. She's probably got a date with her video games. 'Young love' is an understatement!" As if what he said was the funniest thing in the world, he once again sent himself into a fit of laughter.

The ginger, presumably named Ed, dropped me onto my feet and I chose to stomp over to where Eddy was sitting. He stopped laughing and stood up, ready to fight, but went right back down as I punched him in the gut. He groaned and clutched his stomach "What was that for?!"

"For your parents not wearing a condom!"

Eddy growled and picked himself up, stumbling toward me, but by the time he reached me Ed had already handed me my game and wrapped his arms around the boy, pulling him into a bear hug. "I have made a new friend, Eddy! I feel special!"

The short one muttered, "You are special, where do you think Special Ed came from?"

I speedily walked away from the situation and started toward the house just as Ms. Kingsley was walking to the car. She glanced over her shoulder at me, seeing the boys in the background. "Aww, you made friends already?"

"Hardly." She gave me a sympathetic look and rubbed my hair, climbing into the car and pulling out of the driveway.

I slammed the door behind me as I entered the house. That was one of the most humiliating things to have ever happened! God, I hate this world! I ran upstairs and entered the bathroom, slamming this door as well. The bathroom was a bit cramped, looking like it was placed as an afterthought when the house was built, but it gave me just enough room to let my frustration out. Throwing my hat in the sink, I placed my hands on the counter and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Seeing what I saw, I could tell why Eddy had laughed. You look insane; messy hair, nerdy outfit, freaking 3D glasses for crying out loud! Why wouldn't they laugh? I didn't really understand my outfit. I knew I looked like an idiot and I was always insecure about my appearance, why did I torture myself? Just look at the Game Boy, Kassie. Look at how happy it is, stay positive. Be the Game Boy. I took a deep breath and rested my head against the counter, curling into myself.

The ring of the doorbell sounded from downstairs, causing my frustration to rise. I growled and ran out of the bathroom, tripping down all 13 steps as I rushed downstairs to answer the door. Normally I'd never check the door, figuring it was an adult that I had no business with, but something told me it was those three stooges back for more entertainment. Sighing, I pulled the door open, the heat of the summer replacing the air conditioning of my house. As I guessed, Beanie stood on my porch, twiddling his thumbs and seeming slightly nervous. I glared at him, remembering what had happened not 5 minutes ago. "What could you possibly come and bother me about now?"

"Good day, uh, Miss," he greeted, overlooking my question. "I've come to your house to, uh, apologize for what transpired a few minutes ago." He nervously rubbed his shoulder, "Eddy was being...well...a jerk. He can get that way sometimes but he does mean well, I promise." He looked to the ground and his face went red "I would also like to apologize for chuckling at your...uh...sense of style." I replaced my glare with a small smile. At least someone is being nice.

I crossed my arms, shrugged, and leaned against the doorway. "It's alright. But only for you, since you're apologizing for yourself. Eddy, on the other hand, can learn something. It's called 'being a decent person'. You seem to have that down to a T, maybe you could teach him."

"Believe me, I've tried," he said, laughing a little, "And thank you. At least someone recognizes my efforts in being a good samaritan. I would also like to apologize on the behalf of my bigger friend named Ed. He is...special and didn't mean to cause your game any harm."

I slightly laughed, "It's fine, he seems like a very...charming person."

"Much like yourself."

I stared at him for a moment, not knowing how to take that, but I decided to smile as a small blush made its way onto my face. "You're a very sweet person, Beanie," I said somewhat quiet as I stared at the ground.

"HEY, SOCKHEAD! Quit flirtin' will ya, we've got places to be!" Someone called from behind the boy. Looking back, I saw it was Eddy, standing at the end of the driveway being hung on by Ed.

Beanie's face turned a deep shade of red as he heard Eddy's words. He started stuttering, "I-I was not flirting with you, I-I-I promise, I was merely t-trying to apologize for my e-earlier actions!" he pulled his beanie down over his eyes and groaned, "I'm sorry."

I started to giggle, trying to reasure him, "I know you weren't, Beanie, you're just a good samaratin, remember?"

He peeked one eye out from under his hat to look at me, deciding to laugh along with me. "Beanie?" he asked after a moment.

"Sorry," I said in an innocent tone, "I never really caught your name."

"Oh, well in that case," he extended his hand toward me, "My name is Eddward, Edd for short. Although most people just call me Double D."

I smiled and shook his hand, "My name's Kassie. Kassie Duncan."

He pulled his hand away as Ed pulled him from the conversation, "I guess this means I must go. Farewell, Kassie Duncan."

Ed waved too, "Bye, friend!"

"See ya, Beanie, bye Ed." I watched Edd trip off the porch as his friend dragged him away.

I watched the boys as they travelled down my driveway, but before they left, I suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Eddy!"

He turned and groaned, "What do ya want ya nerd?"

"If you want to keep me from punching you in the gut again, you should come and apologize for your own mistakes instead of making other people do it for you. I'll be here waiting." I heard him growl but I shut the door before he could respond.


I heard the front door slam behind me as I laid on the pulled out couch under multiple colored blankets. It was around 9:30 and Ms. Kingsley had already come home and helped me make up the couch that I would be sleeping on for the next few days. In additon to me being on the couch, I was apparently to be her little lookout to catch Kevin if he tried to sneak inside from being out with Nazz.

"It's back!" I yelled to the woman in the kitchen.

"I could tell," she answered, referencing to how loud 'it' slammed the door. She came out of the kitchen and into the hallway. "Where were you, and oh my Lord, why are you a trash can?"

I peeked over the couch to get a look at what was going on, only to see Kevin covered in a copious amount of trash. He replied to his mother with, "I was tied to a tree to be used as a target."

Ms. Kingsley seemed confused, "What?"

"Eddy forced Ed to tie me up to a tree so Eddy could get packback by using me as target practice!" He yelled at his mother, pointing in the direction of where he had come from, a banana peel sliding off his shoulder.

She groaned and walked back into the kitchen, "I'm not listening to another one of your stories, Kevin. They can't always be the same! Almost every night, you come home smelling like a dump or looking like you'd gotten in a car crash and every single night it's the same story, 'Eddy did this to me!'. Honestly Kevin, when are you just going to tell me the truth?"

"I am!" he growled, obviously irritated with his mother's failure to see that Eddy was a psychotic little demon.

"Kevin-" his mother started, but was cut off by her son, still rebelling her words.

"Oh, Kevin" he mimicked, "those boys are such good little children and would never trap Sarah in a cage, or break your bike 30 million times, or feed EVERYONE IN THE CUL-DE-SAC TO THE KANKERS ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DAY! Please mom, just talk to their parents or something and you'll see they're not stories!"

"No, Kevin, because until you have proof of this happening, I am not going to embarass myself in front of their parents by openly admiting my son needs to be checked into the local asylum."

The boy grumbled at his mother, as stormed off to the bathroom to clean himself. I could hear the curse words coming from his mouth as he passed me by. Sadly, Ms. Kingsley heard none of them as she dismissed his bahavior. "C'mon, Kassie," she said, "Dinner's ready."