I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad,
The craziest friend that you've ever had
You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone
Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong
Over the bend, entirely bonkers
You like me best when I'm off my rocker
Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed
So what if I'm crazy? The best people are
Blue paused mid step and looked up at the sky. Deep rolling thunder made the pavement under her sneakers vibrate ever so slightly. Mismatched eyes narrowed as she stared almost threateningly at the dark clouds that had been hanging over the city all day. As if to prove a point the pressure shifted slightly, and one lone raindrop landed on her cheek. There was a pause before the sky just opened up with rain.
"Son of a.."
Groaning she flipped her hood up. Fat lot of good that would do her seeing as the black material was cotton. Within minutes of walking down the deserted sidewalk she was soaked to the bone. Honestly she could have dealt with her clothing sponging up the moisture. What irritated the piss out of her was how quickly the sidewalk filled with water. Ankle deep bull shit. No one should have to deal with wet socks.
Ducking her head she hurried along. All day she'd been running around the city doing jobs. She'd been really hopeful this storm would pass over. Obviously mother nature had to wait until she got off to unleash hell. The worst part was it wasn't cold enough to turn the rain into snow, but it sure as hell was cold enough to count.
Stuffing her hands into her pockets Blue ran her fingers over the wad of cash waiting to be delivered. She'd already stopped by her 'home' to hide what she was putting aside for herself, but the majority of what she earned needed to be dropped off at Rosewood. Not that Sister Mary or Padre would take it. That's what donation boxes were for. She'd drop by like normal to help out for a few hours before wandering home. Hopefully by then this weather would have cleared up
Knowing her luck…
"You stupid girl!" the motherly voice scolded her as she slipped into the foyer. Sister Mary's cheeks turned red at the sight of her. "You'll catch your death."
Not likely.
"In all the time that you've known me have I ever gotten sick?" Blue pulled her jacket off. Having deposited the five hundred in the donation box she didn't have to worry about someone taking it. Underneath her black long sleeve was just as wet. Grinning the girl opened her arms to hug the older woman.
"Oh no you don't! Go dry off! You're leaving puddles on the floor!" hands pushed her towards a bathroom. Blue laughed.
"Fine! I expect a hug when I get out though!" that earned her a scoff.
"You're lucky I don't have you scrub the floors." was the last thing she heard before the Sister's voice was muffled by a closed door. Stripping to her underwear Blue waited for the 'plop' that was a towel and spare clothes being set in front of the door.
"Thank you!" she yelled down the hall as Sister Mary's skirts swished around a corner. With her wet clothes in the sink Blue used the worn scratchy towel to dry off. Bending over she flipped her short black hair over and ruffled it until water no longer dripped from the end. By the time she pulled on some generic grey sweats and black t-shirt she could feel warmth seeping back into her skin.
Stepping back into the hall Blue took a moment to bask in familiarity. Downstairs was always so quiet. Before she left her favorite thing to do was sit at the bottom of the stairs and read a book. From there she could hear the Sisters doing dishes in the kitchen. Upstairs the younger kids were giggling and getting ready for bed.
She really did miss this place.
That had been years ago. She most definitely was not the same scared kid wandering the streets of Chicago. Four years had taught her plenty. In retrospect none of it had been as bad as before. Nothing would be as bad as before. Phantom pain clawed at her back like a provoked entity. Palm flat she rubbed the opposite wrist. The worn glass bead bracelet helped her calm her nerves.
"Clothes." the sister came around the corner and held out an expectant hand. Grinning like a fool Blue swept the woman up in a bear hug. Rocking back on her heels she picked the older woman up and spun once. "YOUNG LADY!"
"I told you I would get my hug!" she snickered. Walking by the older woman she sorted her wet clothing into the appropriate piles for laundry. "Besides you love it! Why else would you let me keep coming back!"
"Don't start with me." mock anger, but there was something else. Eyes kept flitting back and forth between the windows and the door. There was a redness in her eyes that proved that she needed to sleep. Blue frowned.
"Has someone been bothering you?" she asked. Heat curled in the center of her chest.
"Nothing of the sort. Just had a late drop off was all." the woman grabbed the fist Blue was now clenching at her side. Smiling a strained smile she patted the top of her fist and then her cheek. "That being said. There is a young lady up stairs that needs some help settling in. Would you mind taking that up to her. I imagine she could do with a friend."
Craning her neck the dark haired girl eyeballed the tray of food sitting on the table. The serving was enough for two. Hot soup and two cans of Dr. Pepper. Not a huge fan of her choice of drinks, but the caffeine wouldn't hurt. Not to mention giving pop to a kid means this had to be a serious problem. Sister reserved the stuff for special cases.
"Sure thing, but before I head up I heard Ralphie got adopted. Good people?" Blue picked up the tray and started towards the stairs.
"Always good people. They even brought him a little lab when they picked him up. I have a feeling they'll spoil him rotten. If you want to go say hi they're up at Lakeview." they both know she'd never drop in. The last thing that kid needed in his life was her showing up and muddying the water. She was just happy to hear he'd ended up in a good home.
"You should head to bed, Sister. I'll lock up when I leave." a soft smile. A dismissive hand waived at her as the nun started back towards the laundry.
"Knock knock!" was the only warning she gave before opening the door. "I bring sustenance and the promise of a caffeine buzz."
Sitting on the bed was a girl that looked to be about fifteen or so. Blue felt her heart sink. Teenagers didn't just get abandoned at a orphanage. Normally someone her age was here because her parents were dead. No parents. No close relatives. The entire idea was depressing as hell. Dark mossy green eyes looked up at her. Like the sister, the whites of the girl's eyes were red and strained. Be it from fatigue or crying, Blue didn't know.
"Ooone for you." she balanced the tray in one hand and handed her a bowl of soup and can of pop. Brows pinched together, but the girl took the offered items. Humming to herself the she scooted onto the foot of the bed, folding her legs to hold her drink in a more secure manner. "Aaaand the rest for me."
For a long minute the two of them sat in silence. Noisily Blue went about eating her soup, which to her delight turned out to be chicken and wild rice. Dealing with younger kids was a lot easier. They either cried or wanted to be your friend. This girl on the other hand. Already she can feel those eyes scrutinizing her. Sizing her up. Assessing her.
"It's gonna get cold you know." she pointed with her spoon. "Then you're not going to eat it, and Sister's gonna have my ass."
"What?!" the curse word seemed to throw the girl off. Blue raised an eyebrow.
"Did I stutter?" she laughed and cracked open the can of Dr. Pepper. The younger girl jumped ever so slightly at the noise. "Come on, down the hatch so I don't get in trouble."
"Who are you?"
"I imagine you want an actual answer so I'll turn off my snark for a moment." she was already done with her bowl. Leaning forward she placed it on the floor. "The name's Blue. I help the nuns out when I can. What's your name?"
A series of emotions filtered across her was the first to walk across the stage. Normal enough. Teenagers were always paranoid about something. Next was fear. That one interested Blue. They weren't on the streets. They were nice and safe in the walls of the orphanage. Heat and all. What was there to be scared of?
"I can get pretty creative with nicknames. So unless you want to be at my mercy…"
"Victoria. My name is Victoria." the words were rushed. Blue gave Victoria a cheeky grin.
"Still getting a nickname! Now get to eating, Vic." the younger girl made a face. Her little nose scrunched and her mouth twisted. "Nah I'm not a fan of that either. We'll call it a work in progress. Now eat! I'm gonna go check in on the littles, and when I get back that soup better be gone."
Blue hopped off the bed and pointed at the bowl before slipping out of the room.
"Booooo!" an adorably sleepy voice called to her as she opened the door to the room across the hall. One little head popped up from a thick blue comforter.
"Hey, Ollie, sleeping with out the night light now?" she crooned to the little girl. Oliva held up a brown bear proudly. A hand me down, easily identified by the missing right eye and sewn up patches.
"Spot keeps the munsters away. Just like you said!" the little girl said happily.
"You're still a big baby." across the room a boy about the same age chimed in. Rolling her eyes she walked over and ruffled his hair. That earned her a groan.
"Am not!"
"Are too! Only babies sleep with aminals."
"Be nice J.J" Blue chided the little boy before sitting on the edge of his bed. "Spot does a lot of hard work keeping you both safe from nasty things."
"Like the scary man!" Olivia chimed in.
"Scary man?"
"Yeah! He was really really tall!"
"And he didn't have any hair!" J.J confirmed wide eyed.
"He brought that new girl! We think she's a spy!" Oliva's imagination running away with her again. Blue giggled at their exuberance.
"What makes you think that?!" a gasp to encourage them.
"Well he wore the fancy clothes. You know, like the guys in that alein movie we watched." J.J held up a hand and made a weird motion with his hand. "The one where they used the flash to make people forget things?"
"Men in Black?"
"Yeah, that one!" both of them nodded excitedly.
"So, because he was wearing fancy clothes she's a spy."
"Duh!"
"You guys are silly. Don't let Sister Mary hear you saying this!" a wink and she patted J.J's leg. "Otherwise she won't let me bring movies again. Keep it a secret okay?"
More nods.
"Alright now go to bed. I'm going to go do recon on 'the spy', okay?"
"Vicky!" the door swung open. Blue paused under the door frame. "Yeah, that one's no good either. How's that soup?"
Victoria tilted the bowl showing her the emptiness. After stretching her arms over her head, sighing happily as joints popped, Blue flashed the girl a thumbs up. Lazily she meandered towards the bed holding her other hand out. Collecting the dirty dishes she placed everything on a dresser.
"Do you work here?" Victoria asked. A fair enough question.
"Nah, well, not officially." Blue leaned against the dresser. "I help out Sister Mary when I can. Do my best to repay her for raising me."
"Oh, you used to live here?"
"Since I was fourteen." hands rested on her thighs and she rubbed her bracelet.
"What happened to your parents?" a flush of color his her cheeks. "I'm sorry. That was.."
"Chill, V, HA there it is!" a moment of celebration for finding a good nickname before she continued. "Its old news. My parents died about a year before I showed up here. Sister Mary found me wandering around the street half frozen, and bada boom bada bam I became a Rosewoodian."
"That must have been terrible." a pause to magnify the awkwardness. Not that Blue minded. Talking was better than silence. " about now?"
"I mostly do courier work. Running messages and delivering things for people." carefully fabricated lies. She was so used to telling them that sometimes she almost believed them. "Hours tend to very. Like tonight… Haven't worked this late in a long time."
"Sounds… exciting?" Blue couldn't help but laugh. Victoria seemed nice enough, but her social skill were lacking.
"It has it's moments."
Getting shot at.
Brawls…
Pervs…
"How about you? Any crazy hobbies before you ended up here?" Victoria had started to relax. This particular question made her tense. Blue didn't notice though. She was just trying to keep the conversation going.
"Not really. I was homeschooled. My guardian didn't let me out much." a pause and she looked off at the wall. "I was sheltered. I've never even watched t.v"
"WHOA. WHOA. WHOA." Blue held up a hand. "You're telling me you've never had the opportunity.. No, the HONOR, of watching Rush Hour?"
"I don't even know what that is."
"Be still my beating heart. I think I'm going to die." Dramatically she slumped against the dresser holding her chest. Victoria gave a quiet laugh. After holding the pose just for a moment Blue sobered up. "Seriously you know what this means right?"
"No?"
"It means we're having an intervention." Blue nodded to herself. "You my friend are going to have your first movie night tomorrow when I get done with my runs. Hell, I'm sure the littles will be excited too. I'm thinking a Rush Hour marathon. How does that sound?"
"Good!" Eyes wide Victoria looked genuinely excited.
"It's settled then. I'll bring popcorn and everything! That being said I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow, V!"