A/N: Hello :) So I watched the most recent two episodes of The Dumping Ground and I thought Floss was absolutely adorable, and I wanted to try a little one-shot on my idea of Floss' character and of her past. Hope you like it, any advice is welcome and please review! :D
Floss
She hadn't meant to scare Harry. She had blackmailed him, but it was all she ever knew. Coming from a family with four older siblings and being the smallest, Floss had learnt that if you ever wanted anything for yourself, you had to be manipulative and blackmail people. Of course she didn't know what those words meant- she just knew how to do it.
Before she took Jeff, Floss had Buttons. Buttons was a plump teddy with buttons for his eyes (hence his name). He'd been through a lot with her. He'd hidden under the bed with her when she was scared, he was there on her first day of school. But now Buttons was gone, and she was missing him terribly.
However with Jeff, there was a whole new range of games she could play. She could explore in her jungle themed room with him, go to Africa, become a giraffe with him and live in the wilderness. She had loved Buttons, but Jeff was a completely new experience. Once or twice she'd caught Harry sneakily watching them play, jealousy written across his face. She'd invited him to join them but he'd refused, she had no idea why though.
Floss was usually quite shy around new people. She was vulnerable and small, despite her skill at getting what she wanted. That was why she had hidden, she was scared of bad things happening. She'd learnt that hiding or waiting was best. If you hid, the bad things would go away soon enough, and if you waited then you could learn whether someone was nice or mean. It wasn't always that simple, but Floss didn't know what else to do.
Floss was even better at hiding than she was at blackmailing. When your Dad was as scary as hers was, it becomes a habit. Well, he wasn't really her Dad, but she had to call him that. He was Jake's father, and Jake was only older than Floss by two years. Floss was seven. Jake didn't like his Dad, no one did. He came back to the family when Floss was four, but he wasn't as scary then. Mum wasn't scared of him. She was brave, but she wasn't very nice either. She never picked a nice Dad. Floss' oldest siblings, Kara and Jas were twins and they were seventeen now, their Dad had left a long time ago. But he only left because he was sick of Mum, although Kara said this still made him mean. Kara and Jas were the only siblings in the family who shared a Dad. Floss didn't even know hers.
On the day before she went to Elm Tree Care-home, it had been Friday. On Fridays they had show-and-tell at school, and Floss had decided she'd bring in Buttons to show everybody. But in the morning she'd been scared because their middle sibling, Elly, was fighting with Dad again. Elly was strange. She was twelve and didn't really talk to Floss much, she preferred to stay in their room and do nothing. And she really did do nothing. Floss had often gone into their shared room to find Elly just lying on the bed, staring at the blank ceiling. She didn't say much, but when she did she was mouthy. They shared the same soft ginger curls, the only ones to inherit it from their Mum's side of the family.
Kara had hurried Floss out of the house that morning. She had said it was best not to hang around in case it got even scarier, so Floss agreed. However when they had almost reached the school gates, Floss realised something terrible. She had forgotten Buttons! Kara would not let her go back. Even when Floss tried pinching her, she still said no! So Floss pouted for the rest of the day, and continued to do so even when the police arrived at school and called all of the siblings into an empty classroom.
They'd said that there had been a fire at the house in the morning. They'd also said that no one survived it, meaning both Mum and Dad were dead. Kara was crying already, so Floss went over and hugged her tightly- it was something she now did on instinct when she saw someone upset. But when Floss had said that Mum and Dad were sleeping happily now, Kara had quietly told her that was not the reason why she was crying. So Floss sat down again, confused. What other reason was there? Then she remembered something.
"What about Buttons?" She squeaked, her brown eyes wide. The policemen looked at each other, they had no idea what she was talking about.
Luckily one of the others caught on, and she crouched down by the young girl. "Button's is sleeping as well now, honey." She said softly, placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "You'll be coming with me, okay Floss? We're going to a lovely place near London!" She told her, holding out a hand. Floss stared at this unfamiliar woman, unsure of what to do. There were too many things going on in her mind, she couldn't think clearly.
"What about Kara? And Elly and Jake and Jas?" Floss asked quietly, watching her siblings. Kara was weeping even harder now, and Jas was telling her it was alright. Jake was trying hard not to cry and instead was absent mindedly snapping a pencil, while Elly sat in the corner, no emotion shown on her face.
"Me and Jas are to old to go to the nice home, Floss." Kara hiccupped, wiping her eyes. "Jake's going to Gran's house, since he's related to Dad. And Elly..." She trailed off, unsure of what was to become of the middle child. Elly still showed no expression, but her pale cheeks were turning pink.
"Elly is coming with us." A policeman finished for Kara, and the girl burst into tears once again.
"Let's go then, Floss." Said the policewoman, and took Floss' hand. As she left the room, Floss looked back at the family she'd always known. She'd see them again, she thought to herself. Kara had always told her that if you thought good things, then good things would happen. But nevertheless Floss still found herself wiping away little tears that rolled down her cheeks as they walked. Floss knew it was okay to cry.