The first time I saw her I was with my parents at a shitty old superstore. She was standing in the middle of an aisle. 21 to be exact, she was wearing ripped overalls with the trousers rolled up past her knees and a faded pink t-shirt, her shoes were scruffy and socks mismatched, her hair sunshine blonde hair was pulled back into an untidy ponytail. An older man, probably in his early fifties stood directly in front of her, he was holding her by the wrist and pointing at her sternly with his other hand. I was too far away to hear what he was yelling at her about. I remember seeing her trying to tug her wrist back out of his death grip, she was putting on a brave face, not wanting to cry or make a scene; which even I realized would probably result in her being punished even more.

She turned her head, glancing away from him for the briefest second; her eyes met mine. They were piercing blue, but somehow still looked dull and vacant. Her pink lips were pressed together as she looked at me.

Then came the most horrific part.

"Listen to me you stupid girl" the man barked at her, the sound of an open palmed slap to the face echoed down the aisle. It took me a second to register what had just happened and by then the man had released the little girl and given her a shove backwards as he walked off muttering "little piece of shit". Watching the girl stumble backwards frantically trying to regain her balance, I heard my mother call out from behind me with her thick Latina accent.

"Santana, hurry up, your father does not like to be kept waiting"

I knew I needed to go or I would get in trouble but somehow I couldn't take my eyes off the girl after seeing what just happened. I wanted to go and ask her if she was alright, but two other kids came running up the aisle pushing and shoving each other.

They were both boys, one was skinny and pale, he had messy brown hair and dark eyes, the other was tall with broad shoulders and had shaggy ash blonde hair.

"Brittany" the skinny boy called to her as he ran past "come on you loser" the tall boy grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along behind him roughly. I saw her wince as he touched her wrist.

She looked over at me again, before she was yanked completely out of my sight.

I couldn't shake the image of the blonde girl being hit out of my head. I had only been in this town for a week and it already had me living in fear.

I used to live in Valencia in California. I lived in a big house, with lots of rooms; it had a huge garden and a pool. My school was fancy; you only got in if you were of some kind of important status, or you paid the school double to take you in. My friends were okay but I could never really talk to them about anything serious, anything that I was actually interested in, we had fun together and that was the main thing. I guess my life was like what a lot of people dreamed of. Though usually their dreams include parents, I do have parents, but it's basically like they are not there most of the time. I've been looking after myself since I was about 5. My mom likes to think she is a good parent, but she wouldn't know how to be one even if there was a handbook with step by step instructions.

My dad has never really cared about me, he has never told me he loves me or said he's proud of me, I'm just a little piece of his life that gets in his way and spends his money. He lost his job a month ago, I honestly have no idea what his job actually was, but he got in huge trouble and they took all our money and evicted us, we had 24 hours to get out. To be honest, I wasn't even that sad that we had to leave, I was never deeply attached to my life there; everything seemed so shallow and fake.

We packed up our house and took everything we could fit in the car. None of us had any idea where we were going, my mother spent most of the next 3 days crying, and my dad was just silent. He didn't speak to me, not that that was anything new.

We stayed at his brother's house out of state for a couple of days. He didn't have the nicest house but at least there was a roof over our heads. A few days later my Dad informed me that we were moving to Baltimore. It didn't sound that bad at the time, but by the time we got there, it was easy to say that I had completely changed my mind.

When I got back to the car I told my parents what had happened to the girl.

"Not everybody is as privileged as you Santana" my father said to me starting the car with absolutely no sympathy in his voice whatsoever.

I glared at him from the back seat even though I knew he wouldn't see me. If I was privileged, none of it came from them. My mom wasn't one to stand up against anything my dad said so she just mumbled in agreement with him. The rest of the ride home was silent. As soon as the car pulled up outside our block of rundown flats, I was out.

"I'm going for a walk" I told my mom who frowned immediately

"Santana, it's going to get dark soon, it's dangerous for you, you're only 11" she said and folded her arms, I knew she wasn't going to make any other attempt to stop me, so I kept walking.

"I can take care of myself" I called back to her and walked off down the road.

Everything was dry here; it was like it hadn't rained in a year. The sidewalks were cracked, the grass was mainly dirt. People hung their washing out their windows and kids roamed the street freely. It wasn't the safest area to be living in, and it certainly didn't have a good reputation, but it was all that we could afford at the time.

I walked down the street, there weren't as many kids running around, probably because it was coming towards the end of the day and mother's started herding their children back inside to the safety of their own property. Sirens sounded in the distance, and helicopters were constantly circling overhead, I was starting to get used to the different sounds and smells of living somewhere completely different.

I didn't know where I was walking, I kept glancing back so I knew what way to go home, I still found it difficult to tell which block of flats was ours, all the buildings here resembled one another.

I turned the corner and shivered as the cooler evening air blew sharply down the road, there was a small group of kids in the middle of the road, one was lying down, another was sitting and two were standing up pushing each other around.

I frowned to myself and kept to one side of the sidewalk, wondering if I could make it past them without them talking to me, they looked older and I still wasn't that amazing at defending myself.

As I got closer I recognized the two boys from the superstore, the skinny boy kicked the girl who was lying on the ground, my eyes widened as I watched, but I realized she was laughing. She sat up and whacked him behind his knee, making him collapse to the ground. The other girl who was sitting caught me looking at them and she narrowed her eyes, looking me up and down. I quickly forced myself to look away and kept walking. Then I saw her. The blonde girl, sitting underneath a tree a few houses up, she was drawing in the dirt with a stick; the wrist that had been hurt was in her lap. My heart started beating faster, what were the odds that I would run into her again. I have to talk to her I thought to myself. She didn't look up as I approached her; I nervously played with my fingers as I stopped in front of her.

"Hey" I said and she finally looked up and I swear I saw a flash of happiness pass through her eyes. She was even more beautiful up close; a sprinkle of freckles fell across her nose, her ears were slightly pointed and her eyes were like the sky. She had a smudge of dirt on the side of her nose and blood on her forehead.

"Hi" she said and looked up at me tilting her head slightly "you're the girl from the store" she said before looking back down at her dirt drawing.

I was somewhat delighted that she recognized me; I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth.

"You remember" I said and let the smile spread across my face; she looked back up at me and saw my smile that I was trying to bite back.

"Of course I do" she replied "You're not someone I could forget"

"What do you mean?" I asked my heart was still hammering away in my chest; I watched her put the stick down and dust her hand off on her knee, she looked back up at me and smiled, it was the most perfect thing I'd ever seen in my whole life.

"I'm Brittany" she said standing up and holding her hand out to me.

"Santana" I said and reached out slipping my hand into hers, they fitted together perfectly.

"You're really pretty" she said, her hand was still in mine. I felt my cheeks grow warm and I smiled a little looking at the ground.

"Thank you" I said quietly and bit my lip "so are you"

Brittany giggled and let go of my hand. I looked back up to find her still looking at me. I glanced at her red wrist and she slipped her hand over it.

"Is your wrist okay?" I asked her and she looked away

"It's fine"

"Can I see?" I said, I didn't know much about injuries, but at my old school in California we took a first aid course and I thought I could at least try and help her. She shrugged and held her arm out to me, I took a step closer to her and felt her eyes on my face, I gently picked up her wrist and felt around the bone, she winced almost immediately and tried to pull her arm back. I looked up at her; her eyes were wide and worried.

"You need to see a doctor" I said and furrowed my brow, letting go of her wrist.

She shook her head and took a step away from me. Don't go a voice in my head screamed out to her.

"Brittany" I said in my best begging tone "if it hurts that much…"

"I'll get in trouble" she said

"For getting help?" I lifted an eyebrow, what sort of family was this girl raised in. She looked down at the ground and chewed on her bottom lip.

"Come on" I said "I'll go with you" she lifted her head almost as soon as the words had left my mouth.

"You will?" she asked almost in disbelief.

I shrugged "well, why not?"

"Nobody likes me" she said almost as if it were completely normal, I saw her glance over my shoulder and I turned around, seeing the kids in the street looking at us.

"You mean them?" I asked and looked back at her; she looked at me, her eyes meeting mine again.

"They think I'm a freak" she said and wiped her nose with the back of her hand "they call me a loser too"

I frowned and folded my arms "I don't think you're a freak or a loser"

She looked at me and sighed "but you don't even know me"

"I want to come with you" I said and looked at her, a strand of her messy hair had fallen across her face between her eyes, I couldn't help myself, I reached over and gently moved the piece of hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear.

"You're new here aren't you" Brittany said after a moment of silence, I nodded and suddenly in one swift move she caught my hand and linked her pinky finger with mine then began to walk down the sidewalk. I looked down at our hands and my heart skipped a beat. I suddenly realized I never wanted to be away from this girl. I could barely remember what life was like without her, and I had only known her for 5 minutes.

"I've…I've been here for like a week" I finally managed to find words

"Where did you come from?" she asked looking at me as we walked.

"California" I said and kept my eyes on the footpath ahead of us, I knew if I looked her in the eyes one more time I might melt into a puddle. I didn't know what this feeling was; I had never felt it before in my life, it was like nothing else in the world mattered, nothing except this girl.

"Wow" she said her eyes were wide "I've never been there before, but I've seen photos, is it always sunny there?"

I laughed a little "not always"

"How old are you?" she continued to question me

"11" I said "you?"

She giggled again, the same perfect giggle as before "same"

I looked at her and smiled, before looking ahead of us and biting my lip.

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked her

"The train station" she said "it's the quickest way to get to the doctors"

"Who were those kids?" I asked her "playing in the street? I saw two of them at the store with you earlier"

"My brothers and sisters" she said and lightly tugged my pinky finger, pulling me in the right direction, I looked up and suddenly realized the train station was just across the road.

"Oh" I said "they don't look like you"

"I know, they're not really mine, that's why" she said

"You stole them?" I ask and she laughs a little

"They're adopted" she said and I look at her "I am too"

My heart suddenly sank.

"So that man…"

"My father" she said and turned to me "well…adoptive father"

"I'm sorry" I had found myself saying "did you ever know your real parents?"

She nodded "but I don't remember them, I was 3, when they left me"

I looked at her, unable to find the right words, if there were even any, what do you say to someone whose parent left them when they were only three years old. In that split second I was suddenly grateful my parents didn't put me up for adoption, they don't seem to like me very much, but at least one of them cared enough to keep me.

We skipped across the railway and Brittany let go of my hand, she sat herself down on a wooden bench and started swinging her legs. We waited for the train in silence. There was something peaceful about the quiet, I would glance across at Brittany and my heart would immediately feel warm. Maybe living here wasn't going to be so bad after all.

The train came around the corner and Brittany suddenly sat forward on the bench, I will never forget the way her eyes lit up as soon as she saw it, it was like she was mesmerized.

"I love trains" she squealed and leapt up grabbing my hand and pulling me towards one of the carriages.

"You know" she said as we sat down "if this train ride is quick enough, we can get away without paying"

I suddenly realized I didn't have any money with me, so paying wasn't much of an option anyways. I immediately felt nervous, this a dodgy enough town, I didn't even want to think about the consequences of not paying and getting caught, but it's too late, endless possibilities of what might happen are already racing through my mind, my father would kill me if the police got involved, what if I got arrested, what if they put me in jail? No, they can't, I'm underage.

"Santana" Brittany said and I snapped out of my little freak out realizing it's the first time she's said my name "don't look so worried, my brothers do it all the time"

I gave her a little nod and look out the window, broken down, graffitied on brick buildings flashed past my eyes.

"I want to move to the city" Brittany said "and become a professional dancer"

I moved my eyes to her and smile "which city?"

"New York" she said and bit her lip looking out the window "don't laugh at me, I know I can make it"

I continued to watch her, there was something so unique about her, and she didn't let anything or anyone faze her.

"I would never laugh" I said "I want to go to New York too" she turned away from the window to face me.

"Do you dance?"

"No" I replied "but I sing" I had been singing since I was 3. My mom signed me up for lessons when she realized that I sung more than I talked, I only stopped going when I was 8 because they weren't helping me anymore. I knew I had a good voice, everyone at school told me I did, even the music teacher said I barely needed assistance, however the disbelieving mother I have said that I would never make it anywhere as a singer if I didn't have years of voice training. Clearly she doesn't know anything, nor has she ever heard of natural born talent.

"You do?" Brittany's face lit up with a smile "we should go to New York together then, when we're older, and you can be a famous singer, and I can dance"

I couldn't help but smile at how quickly the blonde girl and I had become so close, it's like we were meant to find each other.

The train slowed down, before coming to a complete stop, the doors opened and Brittany quickly shuffled me out of our seat towards the doors, at that moment the ticket man stepped through the door that connects the carriages.

"Go!" Brittany whispered and I felt her warm breath on my neck as we quickly slipped out the door and merged in with a group of adults who blocked us from anyone on board the trains view. She led the way to the medical center; it wasn't that far away, just a couple of blocks. The sun was starting to disappear, I wondered if my mom was going to be worried. Of course she won't be I reminded myself. She has probably forgotten I'm even gone.

The medical center is average sized; it's almost completely in one piece except for the broken window on the side, we go in and a vile smell hits my nose, I hold myself back from gagging, as we walk over to the reception desk and the lady asked Brittany for her name and whether or not she had been here before. I glanced around the waiting room, there was an old man sitting in the corner asleep and a pregnant lady reading a newspaper with a little boy playing at her feet. The lady told us to take a seat and that the doctor will be with us shortly.

We sat down, my stomach was still lurching from the smell of disinfectant and vomit, Brittany doesn't seem to notice, she just looks at me worried.

"Are you sure this is necessary?" she said and played anxiously with her fingers

"Yes" I said and looked at her wrist, which was still bright red and a little bruised "you don't wanna be in pain, do you?"

Brittany shook her head as an Asian lady came out from a room around down the hall. She glanced down at her clipboard.

"Brittany Pierce?" she asked and looked up, I gave her a little nudge when she didn't move and she looked at me as she stood up.

"Can you come in with me" she asked and gave me an adorable pout that I couldn't resist. I quietly stood up and followed them both into the room. Dr Chang asked Brittany to take a seat on the bed, and I made myself comfortable in a chair by the desk. She goes through the admin procedure asking Brittany her name and date of birth, as if to make sure she has the right Brittany Pierce that knows all the correct answers to her questions. After that she asks Brittany what she had done, Brittany immediately looked at me, and I knew she didn't want to say what had really happened so I quickly stepped in.

"She fell" I interjected "out of a tree"

Brittany nodded and then continued to tell Dr Chang about her arm and where it hurts. The doctor examined it carefully and even with her careful touch I still saw Brittany flinch.

"Oh you poor thing" Dr Chang said "that must have hurt a lot"

Brittany nodded and quickly glanced at me, I gave her a small reassuring smile.

"I'm going to have to take an X-Ray though, because you must have fallen on an awfully strange angle to hurt it there" I lifted an eyebrow at this and wondered if Dr Chang had believed anything we have even said so far.

"We have an X-Ray room just across the hall" she said and gestured for Brittany to follow her, they were gone about 10 minutes, when they came back Dr Chang said we would have to wait a bit longer for the results to come through.

"So are you two best friends" she asked trying to start a conversation. I looked at Brittany, a little unsure of what to say, I'd only met her a few hours ago.

"Mm something like that" Brittany said and flashed me a smile.

"And what were you doing in a tree?" the doctor asked and I gulped a little, she was trying to get more information, I could tell.

"Trying to rescue my cat" Brittany said convincingly "Lord Tubbington always gets stuck up trees, he's really fat, see I told him not to go up there cos he wouldn't be able to get back down, but he didn't listen"

"I see" Dr Chang said as the lady from the reception desk poked her head around the door and handed her an envelope. Dr Chang removed the X-Rays from the envelope and stuck them against the backlit screen.

"Oh, it's fractured all right" she said and pointed to the part where it was sore on Brittany. Brittany frowned a little and puts her hand over her wrist "it's a pretty nasty one too" Dr Chang continued.

"No more climbing trees for you Britt" I said to her and Dr Chang turned to us.

"Actually, it looks more like a compression fracture, like you've had something heavy pressed down on your wrist" she stopped before asking "everything alright at home?"

"I- I fell out of a tree" Brittany said starting to freak out a little, her eyes dart around the room and she moves towards the edge of the bed like she's ready to run.

"Mmnn" Dr Chang said. It's obvious she didn't believe us "I'm going to have to put your forearm in a cast, what hand do you write with?"

"My right" Brittany said then bites on her lip

"Ah, well you're in luck in, what color do you want?"

I glanced between them and Brittany smiles a little "pink"

Dr Chang started soaking a bandage in water before wrapping it around Brittany's wrist; she unfolded the pink bandage up and down her arm and hand, when she is finished she tells us we have to wait while the cast sets.

"How are you girls getting home?" she asked "it's getting late, and it can be quite dangerous at night"

"My dad is picking us up" Brittany lied and Dr Chang nods.

We wait patiently until the cast is set and we are dismissed, Dr Chang instructed Brittany to come back in a few weeks to have it taken off, adding at the end to take care of herself and if anything happens to come straight to her, we both know she was talking about family violence, but neither one of us say anything, we just rushed outside and start making our way back to the train station.