The alarm rang. Sophie opened her eyes and blinked. Getting out of her bed slowly, she realized what today was. It was the day she had been waiting so long for.
It was Halloween.
She grabbed the first available clothes she could find and put them on. It was one of the advantages of being a tomboy, she thought, that she didn't have to care about what she wore.
Running down the stairs and attempting to put her raggedy old sneakers on at the same time, she made it to the safe haven of her hallway. Now, if she could only get past the living room, she might make it out of the house.
What was waiting in the living room were the things she hated most in life. Her… parents.
Sophie tip-toed past, trying to avoid them at all costs.
"Sophie? Where are you going?" her mother demanded.
"Um… well… you see…," Sophie stuttered.
"Sophie, please tell me you aren't going to see… those boys." said her mother in a disgusted voice.
"What if I am?" Sophie was always very angry when her mother spoke of them as if they were the worst things in the world. Without thinking, she ran out the door. She heard the screaming of her parents as she ran down the street.
She was almost to Lucas' house…
He was one of the trio. Sophie was the only girl, but she didn't mind. She like hanging out with those two; they made her happy and she loved them dearly.
And that was the problem.
Sophie loved Lucas more than a friend. She couldn't tell him, it would ruin the trio. That's what Sophie always told herself… but she always was longing for him.
She rounded the corner and looked around. This was Lucas' block. It wasn't the most elaborate neighborhood. The houses were regular. Compared to her neighborhood, Lucas' was a dump. She wondered what that would make Brent's neighborhood then.
Sophie was rich. She lived in the biggest house in town, but she acted nothing like a rich girl. She didn't wear name-brand clothes, she refused to wear pink, she refused to act like her parents wanted her too.
Her parents wanted her to be perfect. That was Sophie's biggest problem with her parents. They wanted her to have perfect grades, perfect appearance, perfect everything. And according to her parents, Lucas and Brent were not part of that plan.
Sophie didn't care what her parents thought. Lucas and Brent were practically her life. She did everything with them. So what if they weren't rich or perfect? They were her friends, and there was nothing in the world she cared for more than them.
Sophie looked down the street to Lucas' house. Or, Lock, that was his nickname. Shock was hers, and Brent's was Barrel's.
She smiled at the thought of seeing Lucas and Brent. She hadn't seen them since last night, when they were over at the park.
His house was normal. It was the color white, and there was a nice little flowerbed in front of the porch.
The outside of the house didn't look anything like the horror of what happened inside of that house.
Lucas' parents abused him terribly. She had seen the bruises and cuts. She knew how it felt to have such terrible parents.
He was already waiting for her on his porch. He looked quite bored. Sophie walked up the sidewalk.
"Hi, Lucas!" she said happily. He looked up and smiled.
"Hey, Sophie, it's about time you got here…," he said teasingly. "Can't believe Halloween is finally here, can you?"
"Not really, but I'm so excited!"
They walked side-by-side on the sidewalk.
"We're gonna have the best costumes!" Lucas said excitedly.
"Yup. Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the three trick-or-treaters!"
"We've got so much to do today… figure out which houses we're gonna egg, TP, ding-dong-ditch, gotta figure out the best houses for candy…," his voice trailed off.
"Jeez, we make Halloween so difficult." Sophie laughed. He laughed with her.
"Lock," Sophie said quietly. "How bad were they last night?" Lucas' smile quickly faded away from his face.
"They just smacked me a couple of times, nothing much…,"
"Lucas! Nothing much?" she asked angrily. "You know-,"
"It's nothing, Sophie, just drop it. Please."
Sophie was quiet as she stared into the distance. Lucas never told her everything his parents did to him, but she wished he would. She cared for him too much to let them get away with everything.
"Look, there's Barrel," said Lucas. Sophie looked up and she could see Brent walking towards them.
"Hey!" Brent shouted. "Happy Halloween!"
Sophie smiled. His parents were bad too, they neglected him terribly. They were never home, they were always out somewhere.
They had messed up lives.
But together, their lives were a lot better. They kept each other strong, and they gave each other something to believe in.
They were best friends, and they always would be.
