A/N: I know this is odd, but I feel like writing something short.
Disclaimer: My plot, mine! Not the characters except for Pepper's family. Although I wish I owned Pepper, guys with red hair ROCK!
This takes place 1 year after Sam's accident, so Pepper's fifteen.
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Run Away
"It's s-so c-cold," Pepper complained, his teeth chattering, as he and his dad walked across the parking lot at his school.
His name wasn't really Pepper. Sometimes he forgot his own name, since his parents had been calling him Pepper ever since he was born, because of his chili pepper red hair. They always forgot his name, too, and they had given it to him.
"Get used to it. Idaho is cold," his dad, David, replied.
"Dad, I've lived here for fifteen years. I think I'd be used to it by now," Pepper said, buttoning up his jacket to his chin. "We practically live in the coldest part of Canada."
They got into the car, and as soon as David started the car, Pepper turned the heat up all the way.
It was the end of winter, and he wanted it to be over already.
Why couldn't his family have chosen some warmer place to live?
He hated the cold. Stupid, stupid winter.
His dad was a farmer, and he grew all sorts of crops. Pepper's mom, Sheryl, helped, and also worked at a riding arena a couple miles from their house.
Pepper rode there occasionally, and when he was younger, he had taken Western riding lessons. He had been friends with some of the girls in the lesson, since no guys rode. However, he stopped hanging around with them when he got to that age where girls and guys only hung out together if they were dating.
His sister, Megan, had blonde hair like their dad, while Pepper and his mom both had red hair.
"Well, can you think of any solution to the cold?" David asked.
"Yeah, I can move to Australia," Pepper grumbled, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms like the stubborn fifteen-year-old that he was.
"Son, you're not goin' anywhere," his dad replied, turning into their driveway.
"I could run away," Pepper said, jumping out of the car. He was instantly met by a blast of cold wind.
"Sure, Pepper, sure," David said, smiling.
But Pepper couldn't stop thinking about what he'd just said.
He was sitting on his bed, doing his boring homework, when he heard his parents talking.
Moving quietly, Pepper walked over to his door and listened to the conversation.
"We can't go on vacation," David said.
"Just for the kids' winter break. We could go somewhere warm," Sheryl said.
"No. You know how Pepper hates the cold, right? Well, I think he's seriously considering running away, and if we go someplace that isn't cold, he'd probably want to stay there."
"Pepper wouldn't run away just because of the weather here," Sheryl replied, but she didn't sound so sure. "We could go to Nevada."
"No," David said, but Pepper went back to his bed and thought about their conversation.
"Nevada." Pepper knew there were deserts in Nevada. That meant it would be warm there.
Victory to the red head and his eavesdropping skills!
"I am so going there," he whispered to himself.
"Going where?"
Pepper jumped up and turned around. His sister was standing in his doorway.
"No where, Meg," he said, pushing past her to go into the bathroom and get ready for bed.
"Tell me," the nine-year-old girl protested, following her brother.
"Nope," he said, trying to close the bathroom door, but she stuck her foot out and crossed her arms.
"Where're you going?" she said.
"I'm not goin' anywhere. Now go get ready for bed, it's already 9:30 and you're supposed to be asleep in 15 minutes."
"Bed times are stupid. Are you running away from home?" Megan asked.
Pepper paused as walked out of the bathroom, pulling his sister by the arm to her room.
"What?" Pepper asked.
"You are! You're running away!" Megan shouted, struggling out of his grasp and running down the hall. "Mom! Dad! Pepper's gonna leave!"
"No he isn't, Meg. He's just trying to trick you," Sheryl's voice drifted down the hall.
Pepper smiled to himself.
She was wrong.
He finished getting ready for bed, put on his pajamas and got under the covers, and then turned out the light. Soon he was fast asleep.
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Winter was over, and Pepper was out of here.
No more Idaho, no more freezing weather, no more farming!
He paused in his excitement.
He'd miss his family. No matter how many chores his parents made him do and no matter how annoying Megan got to be, he'd miss them.
Yeah, well, they'd get over it.
The only flaw in his plan was how he was going to get out of here...
He couldn't fly, he didn't have enough money.
Wait...maybe he could take the old car his parents had let him use in emergencies.
He had his permit...he could drive.
No, if he got caught he'd be grounded for life and they'd probably put something on his criminal record.
It would be safer to just take the bus or something. He could take a bus as far as it would go, and then switch buses.
His brilliant plan would work.
The next morning, while it was still dark out, Pepper grabbed his backpack that he had filled with snacks, and, without leaving a note, snuck out of the house. He began to jog to the bus station.
Once he got on the first bus heading towards Nevada, he relaxed.
For once in his life, he would be free from the boring life he had on a farm in Idaho.
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The last bus he took dropped him off in a place called Alkali, in Nevada. He stumbled off the bus, half asleep.
It had taken so long to get this far, he had lost track of the date. All he knew was that sleeping sitting upright at the bus station when someone could come along and kidnap you was uncomfortable and scary.
He felt horrible. He was tired, hungry, and...he wasn't cold. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun shining.
"YES!" he shouted, pumping a fist towards the cloudless sky.
He took off his heavy coat and other layers, so he just had on a white T-shirt and jeans.
There was a shop called Clara's, it looked like a diner. Pepper's stomach grumbled and he walked towards the building.
"Hey, I'll be with you in a minute," a waitress with a nametag that read 'Clara' called to him.
"Ok," he replied weakly, sitting down at a table.
"Oh dear, you look like you're starved half to death! Here, pick something," the waitress thrust a menu at him. "It's on the house."
"Er...thanks," Pepper said. "I'll have a hamburger, please."
"Anything to drink?" Clara asked.
"Lemonade," Pepper replied.
"All right, it'll be a few minutes."
Once Pepper had eaten his fill, it was nightfall.
"You gonna be all right, hon?" Clara asked the boy that she had become fond of over the past hour or so.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for the food," Pepper said, waving as he walked out of the diner.
It was cold again. Pepper shivered and put on his jacket, and then started walking down the road. He had absolutely no idea where he was going.
It was nearly an hour later, at about 9 o'clock, when he stumbled and fell on the dirt by the road.
A car was coming, so he sat up and tried to get up. He was too weak. Even after the warm food he had been given at Clara's, he was still tired and sore from sleeping on the ground.
The truck braked to a stop and a woman got out. She looked elderly, but still lively and energetic.
"Oh, my! Are you ok?" she asked kindly, helping him up.
"Uh, yeah," Pepper replied, glancing behind her into the truck. A man was sitting in the driver's seat and watching.
"Where's your family? I'm Grace," she said.
"Hi...uh, my family's in...Idaho," Pepper said, feeling stupid.
"You ran away?" Grace asked, surprised.
Pepper shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably as he reluctantly nodded. "Too dang cold."
Grace's eyes twinkled in amusement. "Do you have anywhere to go?"
"Depends on if I can work wherever I end up," Pepper replied.
"Care to stay at our ranch?" The man in the car had rolled down the window.
"Wyatt, what?" Grace asked.
"Need another hand," Wyatt continued.
"Sure. That'd be fine, just as long as you don't make me farm potatoes," Pepper said. The two adults laughed.
"How old are you, boy?" Wyatt asked as Pepper got into the truck after Grace.
"I'm fifteen, sir," Pepper said.
"You oughta be able to handle workin' horses, right?"
"Yes sir, I can handle horses."
"Great."
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"Hello, are you Pepper's father?" Wyatt had tracked down Pepper's parents.
"Calm down, calm down. He's at my ranch in Nevada. River Bend Ranch. He's fine." Wyatt smiled as the person on the other end of the line breathed a sigh of relief, and then he hung up the phone.
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Pepper loved this life on the ranch. The other cowboys were so nice to him, and he had ridden a few of the horses already.
Yes, life on River Bend Ranch would be great.
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A/N: An odd, spur of the moment thing I wrote because I wanted to make my own version of Pepper running away.
Tell me what you think! I am 99 percent sure I will keep this a oneshot.
REVIEW!
-DSA