I stood there with my back against the red brick wall that was the front of Owen's convenience store. It was anything but silent on this city street. Cars and taxis were whizzing by to get to wherever people go at two in the morning. My red hair slowly floated over my shoulders and into my face. I stood there and waited; they would come, eventually.

"If you're trying to mug a drunk, you should at least stand near a bar. Anyone who was drunk would be sober by the time the time they get here. You should head over to the corner of South and Hillcrest." Jay said as he crept around the street corner. His dark green hat was on his head backwards as always and his ripped jeans were fraying on the ends from being dragged on the ground all the time. He was getting so skinny from not eating in such a long time.

"Too crowded and public. Sean got caught over there, the feds are there in a second if they here of any kind of disturbance." I responded nonchalantly.

"So? He's out now and he got us almost fifty bucks. Alex and Emma are there now." He said and stood next to me.

"Why are you here? Couldn't get anything at your corner?" I joked. He always got the most money or the best item we could use to sell, no matter what, and he never got caught. He pulled out a sterling silver Rolex from his thick brown jacket and moved and it around in his hand and the light of the street light glinted off its shiny surface.

"Nothing much. This stupid watch and this worthless coat." He shifted his right arm so that I could see the pure white fur coat for a second until he hid it again in the shadows. I smirked

"You stole someone's coat and watch on a street corner and they didn't call the cops? Well aren't you the master of larceny." I said somewhat unconvinced.

"I dipped into a bar. The nice little couple left these things on their table to dance. The rich can be so giving sometimes." He said and smirked.

"You know Red It's almost three we should get the others and head down to Peterson Street. I hear they're building new apartments there, no doors yet." He said and turned around the corner as I followed. We headed down Hillcrest Boulevard and picked up Alex and Emma then to Westside to pick up Sean and Craig. The last stop we made was to get Marco.

Once we were all together we went to those new apartments; or in other words, home for the night.

So this was our family. Marco was gay and his parents threw him out. Emma left when her stepdad started beating her when he was drunk. She tried to tell her mom , but she didn't believe her. It was too much to see him practically everywhere she went. Alex couldn't handle her mom taking the abuse from her boyfriend and always going back to him no matter what. Craig also got the crap beaten out of him by his dad just like Emma was, only his dad wasn't drunk. Sean couldn't deal with his drunk, worthless, parents, and I was tired of being the parent, or that's what I told everyone anyway. As for Jay, I don't think anyone knows why he's out on the streets. He was here before the rest of us.

We all sat around the fire that we made from the left over construction equipment and tried to forget about the pain in our stomachs left over from hunger, or the accumulating dirt all over our bodies, or just how much life sucked in general.

Pretty much everyone slept in their own corners except Emma who slept in the nook of Sean's body. Jay said it wasn't good for any of us to have relationships with one another. He always said if we ever broke up, someone would end up feeling like they had to leave the group and they wouldn't last a day by themselves.

He was right of course, having this makeshift family is what kept most of us alive for this long.

"I think all the girls should become strippers. Alex brought in a lot of money when she was doing it. Imagine all the money we would have if they all did that." Jay said and tossed a stick into the fire. Alex glared at him and all the guys snickered.

"Then what would all of you guys do all?" I questioned. If he thought he would just live the good life off of my hard work he had another thing coming.

"Well, just sit back and drink beer of course." He said and gave me a look like it was the stupidest question in the world. I threw a full beer can at him and he looked at me in mock hurt.

"The full ones hurt Red and they're a waste of a good beer." He said and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey cut off the PDA, not all of us want to see that!" Alex yelled at Emma and Sean, but they continued to suck face in the far corner of the unfinished room.

"You're just mad because you'll never get to do that with anyone. I mean you've tried it with girls and guys, but still no one seems to want to you." Jay said and smirked as she glared at him again.

"Jay, stop picking on Alex. We all know you make fun of her because you're upset that she likes girls more than she likes you." I said and smirked at him.

"Just be aware of the fact that I'm the one who has you're cigarettes Red." He said and he shook my pack in his hands. My eyes bulge and I reached over to get them but he held them just out of reach.

"How they heck did you get those?" I said and continued to reach for them. He started to take one out but I grabbed it and the rest of the pack as well from his hands.

"Whatever Red." He said and sat back down in his spot next to the pile of wood.

"Stop calling me Red and maybe I'll give you one." I said and lit the one he took out. I took a long drag and scraped my wrist against the nail I found earlier.

"Stop cutting up your arms because you think your life sucks more than everyone else's" he said acidly, his light blue eyes shining from the light of the fire.

"Wow that was low for even you Jay." I could hear Craig say as I got up quickly and took my cigarettes out into the cold air outside leaving with a teary glare that I sent in Jay's way. Marco followed me and put a comforting arm over my shoulder.

"Don't worry El, he doesn't know the truth." He said as he rubbed my back. I turned around to look at him eye to eye.

"And you're not going to tell him right?" I said almost anxiously as I waited for a response. I hated how pathetic my voice sounded.

"Of course not. It's your story to tell or not to tell. I'll see you back inside. Come in soon you'll freeze out here." He said reassuringly and walked back in with his hands in his pockets.

Marco has always taken care of me, ever since I met him back in high school. When he got thrown out I knew he could stay at my house with me and my mother, so I went with him out onto the city street. We've been best friends for years now. He knows everything about me and I know all there is to know about him.

About one hour later I dropped the end of my third cigarette and went back inside. Practically everyone was already asleep, only Jay and Craig were still awake.

"What neighborhood are we hitting tomorrow?" I asked and sat down next to Craig not looking at either of them.

"Probably north county area, we haven't been there in a while." Jay said and pulled his over his eyes but didn't go to sleep.

"Yea, of course we haven't been there in a while. Rick Murray's group is in that area. He pretty much owns it. We were nearly killed." I emphasized the killed part to try and get into his thick skull just how dangerous that part of the city was.

"We could die any day. The knives and guns just make the few days we do live a little more interesting." I couldn't see his face but I knew he was smirking underneath his hat.

"El, don't worry about it. It will just be one day. Last time Jay was the one who started the fight anyway. He won't do that again will you?" Craig said and nudged Jay in the back.

" 'Course not." I heard him say then you could tell from the rhythm of his breathing that he had fallen asleep.

I got up from my spot close to the fire and found a few bags of dirt. I made a bed out of them and waited for sleep to come. The real reason I didn't want to go that area wasn't because of what happened last time. No, it was because that was where my mother lived.

I listened to the sounds of everyone else sleeping, and soon enough, I too fell asleep.

Tomorrow was going to be just another day in the hard life of us street kids.