Welcome to my new short story. Pay attention to the A/N's because this is all 100% A/U.
Legal ~ I own nothing but the idea.
Important crap to know about this story:
This is all 100% A/U, none of the kids ever went to DeGrassi, they are all from different parts of Toronto and a few are from other Canadian cities.
Katie does not exist in this story.
Clare's mother never married Glen and Clare has never seen Glen or Jake.
Miles is an only child in this story as is Alli.
Back stories will be revealed within this chapter for a few people and the others will be revealed in upcoming chapters.
Ch. 1 Welcome to the Streets
(CLARE)
I never thought I'd end up here, never in a million years did I think I'd be one of the many homeless teenagers on Toronto's streets. I can still remember our beautiful home in Scarborough, my friends at the private school I went to, family dinners and being happy. Of course that was years ago, before my sister committed suicide without even leaving us a note to let us know why. She had only been fifteen, I knew something was wrong but Dad was always working, and Mom just pretended that nothing we were still the picture of family bliss and perfection. Then one morning I found that she'd slit her writs in the shower. Rather than deal with it or talk about it we moved from Scarborough to Kingston, and then six months after Darcy's death, and constant fighting between my parents my dad left. Just took off on day, took all his stuff without a note, phone call or anything. That was nearly four years ago and I haven't heard from him since.
Mom lost it after that, she started drinking, stopped working and began bringing home strange men, pretty much a new one every night. The drinking soon turned to drugs and it wasn't long before the men that she brought home began turning their eye to me. As puberty developed my body their tastes developed to me. One night, about three months ago, after mom had fallen asleep in a drugged and drunken stupor her man for the night tried to come in my room. Luckily for me he was too high to navigate a locked door. The next day I went and bought a padlock installing it inside my room to keep the men out. I could not leave Mom, she was the only family I had left and I didn't want to abandon her, although looking back on it I can see that she abandoned me long ago. Even with the padlock the men still tried and then about two weeks ago one took off the hinges to my door, I managed to get away and I ran but was soon picked up by the cops.
They didn't take me home after I told them my story but then I was put into foster care. The house seemed okay, there were four other girls in the house, all being fostered and the parents seemed nice, at least on the surface. I discovered though that the parents were strict and punishments were cruel, the oldest girl in the house Melanie had come from an even worse situation than mine and she took it out on everyone else. I woke up one night to her sitting on me and telling me I couldn't be prettier than her as she was cutting off my hair. My foster mom got it fixed and now it's super short but cute I guess. It was only a couple nights later that the second oldest girl hit me with a pan for cooking something wrong and my foster mom, who was standing right there, did nothing. I had to get out of there and so two nights ago I took off, stealing money from my foster parents to do so. I took a bus into Toronto and it was just pulling up, I had good memories of Toronto and anyway I didn't want the cops or my foster family to find me so I figured I'd stay close to Scarborough but far enough away that they wouldn't find me. I escaped with only a couple changes of clothes and the little bit of money I was able to steal.
From the bus station I began walking, I had no idea where I was going, or where I was sleeping tonight for that matter but first I needed something to eat. I only had to walk a few blocks before seeing a sign for a diner. I passed a drug store on the way and there was a whole group of kids hanging out in front of it, considering that a few were panhandling I surmised they were homeless as well but as I couldn't be sure I didn't say anything. Anyway a few looked menacing and I wasn't sure how this all worked, could I just approach them or was there some pecking order like a gang. Well I'll worry about it after I eat, I haven't eaten since yesterday and it's effecting my ability to think. I enter the diner and the hostess tells me to sit anywhere so I sit at the counter and pick up a menu.
"What'll it be Honey?" The waitress asks me.
"Umm a coke and a grilled cheese sandwich please," I order, not the most elaborate or satisfying but I don't know when or how I'll get more money and I need to make what I do have last.
The waitress tells me it'll be right out and grabs me my coke first. I sit sipping at it for a few seconds and then a boy sits down on the stool next to me. He's tall and thin but slightly muscular with buzzed hair and a grin that says he wants to do more than say hi.
"Hey I'm Chains," the boy says.
"You're parents named you Chains?" I question just as the waitress gives me my sandwich.
"No that's just what I go by, the guy on the other side of you is Beast," Chains tells me and I look behind me to see a very large boy sitting on the other side of me. "The one behind you is Ape Man," Chains says and I see another guy behind me and now I feel surrounded. I try to ignore them all and eat my sandwich but they aren't making it easy. "So what's a pretty little thing like you doing in her by yourself?" Chains asks picking up a strand of my hair and I flinch away from him.
"Just eating lunch," I reply stuffing a large bite in my mouth so I can get out of here and away from them.
"You new to the area?" Chains asks and I ignore him.
They don't say anything else and I finish my lunch handing my money and tip directly to waitress. They let me pass, I walk to the front door and I start to speed up but they grab me and pull me into the alley behind the diner.
"You know it's rude not to answer someone, after all I can help you. I can tell that you're new to the streets we can help you out. Show you where to sleep, how to get cash, and who to avoid," Chains tells me as I back up and try to get away from him but instead end up backed against the brick wall. "Of course we'll expect certain things from you in return," Chains grins running a finger over my face and I can feel tears in my eyes. My heart races, my breathing speeds up, I try to run but Beast and Ape Man pin my arms to the wall!
(OWEN)
We were sitting outside the drugstore; it's a good spot for the girls to panhandle. Maya is especially good at it since she looks so very young and never says anything. I was sitting nearby but a little separately keeping an eye on everyone, suddenly Maya gets up and follows a new girl into the diner. She's in there for a little while, I don't even notice when Maya comes out again but she suddenly runs over and pulls at my arm, she's got a really urgent look on her face and is pulling at me to come with her. I know someone must be in trouble and I hop up to follow her calling the guys to come with me. We follow Maya to the alley behind the diner where I see Chains and his goons crowded around something at the back of the alley.
"No get away from me," some female voice says in distress.
"HEY CHAINS BACK OFF NOW!" I yell at him.
Drew and Fitz run over to grab the goons while Dallas and I nab Chains pulling him away. It's that new girl they're bothering, guess Maya saw them follow new girl out.
"We were just welcoming the new chick," Ape Man argues.
"Yeah by trying rape her!" Adam growls at them, he comes over and stands by new girl, her sweater has been opened and her top pulled down a bit.
"Payment for showing her how things work around here," Chains replies.
"You know how things work around here, you bug one of mine and I break your face!" I bark at Chains.
"She ain't one of yours," Chains responds in a laughing sort of tone.
"She is now and now we kill you," I tell him.
I punch him in the face and then kick him while Dallas goes to help Drew with Beast. Fitz gets Ape Man down pretty quick, after a few kicks to the side Ape Man gets up and runs out of the alley. Beast follows after a minute when he's had enough from Drew and Dallas, Chains is last after I make sure he has enough bruises to keep out of sight a few days. The three of them stumble out of the alley and we all look at new girl, all of us are back here now and she looks at us nervously.
"Are you okay?" I question.
"Yeah, fine you got here just in time though, thanks for saving me, they would have raped me if you hadn't come so thanks," she mumbles somewhat frantically so I know she's shaken.
"Don't worry about it, you're new to the streets, these streets anyway," I state looking her over.
She's short, we've only got two girls and she's at least a couple inches shorter than both of them. She looks like she's maybe 15 or 16 and voluptuous, big bust and curves, the good sexy kind, I can see why Chains and his goons wanted her. Her auburn hair is super short but it's cute, she's also got these very bright blue eyes.
"New to all the streets, I'm Clare," she tells me.
"I'm Owen but no one goes by their real name out here it's safer that way. Everyone calls me Muscles, the one next to you is Adam but we call him Freckles. The one with the spiky hair there is Adam's older brother Drew but he goes by Spikes, like his hair. The other spiky haired one with the brown eyes is Fitz but we call him Bruiser. Next to him is Dallas also known as Lone Star. The two over there with platinum blonde hair, the boy is my little brother Tristan but he goes by Platinum because he bleaches his hair. Maya's is natural and we call her Mouse because she barely ever talks. That there is Cam but he goes by Puck since he likes hockey and next to him is Miles he's known as Dollar. The girl with all the hair is Bianca otherwise known as Raven. Now as for you, I think I'll call you…Trouble, since you seem to attract it," I inform her.
"Okay, anonymity is good," Clare says slowly.
"Come on you can come sit with us, you seem kind of shaken," I tell her waving for her to follow, Adam puts a hand on her back and she follows us.
The group of us walk back to the front of the drug store, sitting back in our spots, Bianca and Maya go back to panhandling, along with Tris, Cam and Miles because younger gets more cash. Clare sits down between me and Adam, taking her backpack from her back and gripping it tightly.
"So you a runaway or a throw-away?" Adam asks Clare.
"Throw-away?" Clare queries.
"Parents stop caring and kick you out, that's what happened to Mouse, Bruiser and Lone Star," Adam explains.
"Sort of both," she replies. "My mom lost it and stopped caring about me, I was put into foster care, the family was bad. The mom would lock us in a closet for being bad and the dad would whip us with a switch. They didn't really care what we did to each other either. The oldest girl chopped off all my hair one night telling me I couldn't be prettier than her. One of the other girls hit my arm with a pan for messing up lunch, my foster mom saw and did nothing," Clare kind of babbles in a nervous manner and then seems to realize this. "Well anyway I had to get out so I ran last night," she sums up.
"Yeah Drew and I ran from a bad foster family too. Our parents died in a car crash and no one else in our family would take us both, we wouldn't leave each other so we got put in the system. Then we got bounced from house to house for about six months before we got fed up and just bolted. We met up with Muscles and Platinum a couple of years ago, been with them ever since," Adam tells her and she looks at me waiting for my story.
"Our mom took off after Tris was born; Dad told me later on she had postpartum depression. When I was thirteen and Tris was ten Dad just suddenly dropped dead of a brain tumor we didn't even know he had. We were sent to live with Dad's brother, a bastard alcoholic who would beat the crap out of both of us. I tried to take all the beatings but sometimes he'd knock me unconscious and start in on Tris so one day I took my brother and we got away. Been out here almost four years now, we do pretty good and all of us are like a family, we look out for each other and I make sure everyone stays safe, with some help from Bruiser, Spikes, Lone Star and even Puck," I tell her and she bites her lip looking kind of sad and nervous. "Hey don't worry you're one of us now, part of our family I'll keep you safe just stick with us."
She smiles now, she's got a nice smile and I smile back. Adam tells her how things work out here, shelters, panhandling and people to stay away from like Chains and his goons. I grab us all some fries and drinks around four because we probably won't eat again today. Adam's still talking to Clare when a dark sedan pulls up and a gross looking guy in his forties gives Bianca a whistle.
"How much honey?" The guy asks thinking she's a hooker so I stand up and walk to the car leaning in the window.
"Get lost before I smash your teeth in, no hookers in this group," I inform him, I straighten up and he drives off. "Come on it's getting dark we better get in and claim our beds," I command and everyone stands up.
(CLARE)
It's not even dark, only dusk but Owen tells us we need to go claim beds so we all get up. We walk a few blocks and get to this abandoned apartment building, it's two stories and small, there was maybe twenty apartments. When we go inside I see that there are several missing walls but it's got all the exterior walls and a roof. There are a few other homeless kids in here but they just wave to Owen and give me a quick look over because I'm new I guess. I follow them upstairs and Owen looks in a bunch of rooms while the rest of us wait in the hall.
"Alright we got seven grouped here, Trouble you can take the single on the end there," he tells me.
"Umm I…don't…" I hesitate to tell him I'm too afraid to sleep alone.
"Don't want to sleep alone on your first night?" Owen asks and I nod.
"She can sleep with me," Adam offers.
"Okay Trouble and Freckles take the queen bed in the center there. I'll sleep on one side, Bruiser you sleep on the other. Raven and Spikes take the queen across the hall," Owen says and it occurs to me that they must be a couple. "Platinum and Mouse take the room on the other side of me. Dollar and Puck take the one with two doubles on the left of Raven and Spikes room, so Lone Star you take the room on the other side of them."
Adam takes my arm and pulls me into the room that was chosen for us. There's a queen bed and a couple of blankets, it doesn't exactly look clean but it's somewhere to sleep.
"You should sleep in your clothes, lots of kids sleep here and nothing is clean," Adam tells me.
"Do you sleep here every night?" I question setting my backpack down.
"Most nights yeah, I know it's kind of gross but it beats sleeping outside especially in the winter. Reverend Baker has a church in Riverdale, there's beds and a couple of rooms there, sometimes we sleep there but we aren't often in Riverdale and you have to get there real early 'cause the beds get filled up quickly. It's not so bad here really, no one will bug you if they know you're with Muscles and I promise I won't touch you, we'll just sleep back to back," Adam informs me.
"I trust you Adam," I smile.
I set down my backpack and take off my shoes but I leave my clothes on like Adam recommended. He lies on his back and I turn on my side facing him, Adam is sweet, he has a kind smile and calming presence. Adam seems to know that I can't fall asleep because he starts talking, about all kinds of things and I fall asleep to his soothing voice. I wake up super early the next morning after a nightmare, Adam is still asleep and I don't want to wake him so I get up slowly. It looks to be just after dawn but at least the sun is up. Going downstairs I find that this building has a courtyard out back, it's over grown now along the sides but the center is a brick patio with a couple benches, most of which is visible and not overgrown. I slide open the back door and sit on a bench, it's actually quite peaceful out here and I think I'm alone until someone moves.
"Oh hi, I didn't know anyone else was out here," I say almost apologetically to the boy.
He's thin, with longish black hair and piercing green eyes. He's dressed all in black and he's smoking a cigarette, which he flicks down and puts out when he sees me.
"I never mind the company of a beautiful girl," the boy smirks making me blush, then he walks over to me and looks at me closer. "So pretty eyes what do they call you?"
"Clare," I tell him my real name and then remember that's not my name, "no umm Trouble, Owen…I mean Muscles named me Trouble," I tell him quickly.
"I'm going to love getting in trouble," the boy smirks and it takes me a second to realize that was quite the sexual innuendo and I blush. "I'm Eli but everyone calls me Gloom since I have penitent for black clothing," he smirks and I bite my lip.
"TROUBLE WHERE ARE YOU?" I hear Owen calling for me.
"I'm here, just out back," I holler loud enough that he can hear but without looking away from Eli.
"There you are, I was right you are trouble, hey Gloom," Owen remarks putting a hand on my shoulder and nodding to Eli. "C'mon Trouble we're going to get breakfast," Owen says directing me back in the house.
"Where was she?" Fitz asks when we're inside.
"Outside talking with Gloom," Owen tells him.
"Better get your stuff, it isn't safe to leave it out, never know who'll come in the house, everyone knows about this place," Lone Star comments.
"Bruiser go with her," Owen commands and he does.
"We'll go by the bus station after breakfast and you can stash your stuff in a locker. It's the cheapest, safest way to keep your stuff, we all do it," Fitz tells me as we go back to the room Adam and I slept in last night.
I grab my backpack which Fitz then offers to carry and then our whole group leaves the apartment building, we walk back to the diner where I ate lunch yesterday. Owen orders five pancake short stacks and then coffee for everyone. That gives us 25 pancakes to divide up amongst us and it's the cheapest thing on the menu. I eat one pancake and get pretty full, I'm not sure anyone got entirely full but at least we have food in our belly. After breakfast we walk back to the bus station I arrived at yesterday, Dallas shows me how to get a locker and I stuff my backpack in it.
"They also have showers here; we come here or go to the Baker's church every few days to shower and change," Dallas informs me.
When we leave the bus station we walk a couple blocks to a park, it has grass, benches and a skate board area, which explains why Adam, Miles and Cam have skateboards. They go to skate, Tris starts panhandling and the rest of us sit on the grass. Maya is watching Miles and Cam with so much interest I know she must like one of them.
"Who's the fresh meat?" An Indian girl asks walking up with a thin girl with more black curls than Bianca.
"Be nice Bengal," Dallas says.
"I'm always nice you know that Lone Star," Bengal replies sitting on one side of me and the other girl sits next to her. "Hi I'm Alli but I go by Bengal, and this Tori but she goes by Tiara. So you got a name yet?" Alli asks me.
"Yeah Muscles gave me the name of Trouble but my real name is Clare," I reply.
"You know you got a nice body trouble, you ought to come with us we make much better money than panhandling," Bengal tells me.
"Get lost you two, Trouble's one of mine and none of mine hook," Owen tells them in a firm voice.
"Think about it Trouble," Alli says but they leave.
"They're prostitutes?" I question.
"Yeah, I used to be too," Bianca informs me. "They are right you can earn a lot of money but it's dangerous too. I was only hooking a couple of months and got beat up really bad by a John. Bruiser found me and brought me to the apartments we usually sleep in, where we all slept last night. Muscles and the others took care of me and I became one of them and stopped hooking. That was over a year ago, been dating Spikes since then," Bianca smiles and kisses Drew.
"No hooking and no drugs, those are my only rules," Owen tells me.
I could never hook and I don't want to do drugs so these rules are just fine by me. Miles and Cam seem to be competing for Maya's attention as they keep calling for her to watch them. After a while Tris comes back to give Owen his panhandling money and then Maya goes to panhandle. Since she's no longer watching them Miles and Cam get bored with skateboarding and go to panhandle with Maya. Adam keeps skateboarding for a while and then comes back to join us, he takes me with him to panhandle as I've never done it before. Adam tells everyone who passes him a story about needing to get home for his grandmother's funeral while I just look pathetic and ask for spare change. Adam makes more money than me, guess I need a story. After a while we return to the rest of our group, I almost sit down but then I see Eli approaching, wearing the same sexy smirk that he was this morning.
"Hey Trouble, I'll buy you lunch," Eli offers, at the mention of food my stomach growls and I look at Owen.
"You can go if you want just be careful, you got a cell phone?" Owen asks and I shake my head. He reaches into his pocket pulling out a cell then hands it to me. "Take mine so we can get a hold of you. Gloom she's new to the streets be good to her," Owen warns him.
"Relax Muscles it's just lunch," Eli smirks.
He offers me his arm and I link my arm with his, looking back to smile at Owen as we start walking. We go back to the same diner; it looks like 90% of their patronage is vagrants and people getting off the bus. Eli tells me I can order anything I want no matter how expensive and I'm starving. I get spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread and salad, with a coke again. Eli gets a hamburger, French fries and a milkshake.
"You know you don't have to sleep in that apartment building, there's a motel down the block, it's not fancy but the sheets are clean and there's hot showers. The beds are way more comfortable than those lumpy mattresses in the apartments and there's locks on the doors so people can't just come in and take your stuff. You can rent a room by the week," Eli tells me after our food is brought.
"Sounds great but I can't afford that, I don't have that much money left and I only made about $10 while panhandling," I inform him.
"You can stay with me, I rent a room almost every week, gonna rent one tonight for the week. You're welcome to stay with me any time," Eli says with a smile while stroking my face.
"Thanks, I might take you up on that," I reply. I like Eli and I'm attracted to him, he seems like a good guy but I don't know him that well. "So how can you afford to rent a room?" I inquire to make conversation.
"I hook," he replies and I drop my meatball back in the spaghetti. "Don't worry I'm clean, I use condoms every time and I won't do everything. I get tested at the free clinic every few months," Eli informs me nonchalantly.
"So you're a male prostitute? Bianca…I mean Raven told me that was dangerous," I comment eating the last of my salad.
"Yeah it can be mostly for girls though, women are less violent and demanding plus they pay better. The Johns that the girls service are all horny old men, well mostly and they usually have some violent tendencies," Eli replies.
"So do you ever…with guys?" I ask with some hesitation.
"Yeah but I charge more, but like I said I won't do everything," he shrugs.
I decide to drop the subject and Eli tells me he ran away from home after his girlfriend was killed in a car accident. He says he just couldn't deal with everything and he had to get out. We talk and eat slowly I don't know why but I really am attracted to Eli and I want to spend more time with him but after about an hour my phone, or rather Owen's phone rings.
"Hello?" I answer cautiously.
"It's me where are you?" Owen asks.
"At the diner still," I reply.
"Alright stay there we're on our way," Owen says and hangs up.
"Muscles and the others are coming to get me," I tell Eli.
He pays for our lunch with cash, then we go out front and wait for Owen and the others. Eli leans against the building with his arm around me.
"Here got you your own phone," Owen informs me handing me a disposable phone.
"Thanks, you didn't need to do that," I reply handing him back his phone.
"Yeah I did we need to be able to find you," Owen replies.
"I already activated it and put in all of our numbers," Adam speaks up.
"Thank you Freckles," I smile looking at my new phone until Eli takes it from me and starts punching in numbers.
"There you go, now you have my number too," Eli says giving me back my phone and then kisses my cheek. "I'll text you my room number in case you want sleep over," Eli remarks, then smirks at the others and walks off.
"Be careful with that one Trouble," Owen tells me as I watch Eli walk off and bite my lip. "Come on we're going to the mall it's great for begging and sometimes getting a free meal."
Owen puts a hand on my shoulder and Bruiser gets on the other side of me. Our group starts walking and I begin to think I might be able to survive this life on the streets, with the help of Owen and my new friends.
Update Friday April 11th from around here, including some more of Cam and Miles competing for Maya and a couple more backstories including how Miles ended up on the streets.