Authoress Note: OK!! So, the poll is still tied...but I'm leaning more towards Sam after I wrote this chapter. I can't help it! Angsty stuff is like in my nature to write. Anyway, thanks to all the reviews!

Thanks to:

Rain44354 - I know, right? I like to do unusual pairings XD. Did you know that my nickname is Kitsune? It has been for 6 years and because one of my favorite animals are foxes.

hermonine - You know now that I have enough time to write I'll be popping out chapters more frequently. XD

SaneLunatic - I know, right? Anyway, I'm glad you like my story!

Lisa - I have taken a Litmus test and according to that my character is not a mary sue. In fact is is nowere near a mary sue. Thank you for taking the time to review, though.

KimTheKat - XP Thanks. Most of my stories are based of dreams that I have. lol you can say that a lot of my dreams are original.

Chapter 3

The Deal and the Library

Elliett's Journal Entry 3

Dear Diary,

I admit that I'm not a perfect person…I'm far from the perfect person… and I admit that I have several faults. I am far from being normal…with what I have been born with. I have often wished that I was more human looking…but then I wouldn't be who I am. What I look like defines who I am today.

I suppose I should tell you what some of my faults are. For one thing I am terrified of heights and deep water of any kind. Kind of sucks when you live near a lake, huh? Macon likes to threaten me by taking me to the lake and holding me over the side of a rental boat. Because of my fear of water I can't swim.

I think that I am severely hideous and I know that I am definitely not intelligent. How do I know this? Because Macon told me and has been telling me ever since I came to the orphanage. He's been telling this to me so much…that it has to be true. Hopefully today I can find something…anything…about my past. I want to know who I am and why I must suffer for it.

I want to stop being alone.

Love always,

Ellie

The silver haired teenager grimaced when she moved her left wrist. Macon probably bruised it when he grabbed her when she got home last night. There was a faint trace of bruising – Macon had cursed at himself for that one. Usually he liked to injure her where she could cover it up. Then, there would be less of a chance for him to be found out.

It was ten in the morning and Elliett had just realized a few hours ago that she hadn't asked Sam what time she was to meet him at the library. She felt stupid for that; if she had asked him what time he wanted to meet then she would have saved a lot of trouble. The silver haired teen knew where the brunette boy lived, but she didn't want to anger his parents. She didn't know what time that Sam's parents woke up so she didn't know what their reactions would be when she unexpectedly showed up at their door.

Suddenly, a large bang ran through her room when Elliett's door had been slammed open. The small pictures, there were only one or two, shuttered on the walls and the small window shuttered in its frame. The silver haired girl turned around, frowning at who was standing in the doorway. The owner of the orphanage stood there, glaring at the innocent teenager. She was a completely horrible woman.

"We have an open house today so I want you out! You're just a nuisance! I can't believe I even took you in!" Edana shrieked, glaring at the silver haired woman as she stalked closer.

The female orphanage owner was dangerously thin, almost to the point of being anorexic, and was wearing a skin tight hot pink sweater. The color of the sweater was so bright that it burned the silver haired girl's eyes, and black spandex pants that were way too tight for her body frame. Hot pink spindly heels adorned her feet; she looked like she would fall from them any second. It was a horrible outfit to go with a horrible person.

Elliett nodded as she sighed, but was sent reeling when the snotty woman backhanded her across the face. With the silver haired girl's pale skin she bruised quite easily. The blonde orphanage keeper grabbed a handful of the silver haired teenager's hair, pinching one of her uncovered ears in the process. The pain was great, especially since she was pinching the burn that Macon had given her. As the woman pinched harder the pain became unbearable, but she knew better than to let her pain be known.

"Don't get cheeky with me, brat! God, I can't believe you think you're actually important! If you're not out of this place in ten minutes I'll kick you out myself!" the woman named Edana screeched, turning on her heel after giving Elliett's poor ear one last squeeze. She thought about it for a minute before giving Elliett a good kick in the ribs with her heel. The blonde woman wrinkled her nose in disgust as she looked around the room, slamming the door as she exited. The window and wall hangings shuttered as the door slammed; the silver haired girl winced as the small window cracked.

Elliett sighed, getting dressed in her normal attire and shoving her worn beanie on her head. In her haste to escape she forgot to put cover upon the bright red mark that was developing on her face. It would surely develop into a bruise in a few hours. Within minutes the silver haired girl had grabbed her messenger bag and was racing out the door, beginning her trek to Sam's house. She didn't want to make a scene for herself if Edana actually meant what she threatened.

A thirty minute uneventful trip later and she arrived in the brunette boy's neighborhood. It was a lot better looking than the place where she lived. The silver haired girl sighed for what seemed like the thousandth time, clutching her bag to the side and twirling a strand of her starry colored hair around her finger. It was a habit she was prone to do when she was nervous.

Elliett was about to locate Sam's house, but paused when she heard a sad chirp somewhere behind her. It had a sort of…mechanical tinge to it, but it wasn't a bad sound. The starry haired girl turned, thinking that it was some sort of bird...but it wasn't. It was the beaten old Camaro. The sound couldn't possibly come from the Camaro, could it?

"What in the world?" she mumbled to herself. The beaten and dusty yellow car was parked along the curb of the street, innocently sitting with no person in sight. Maybe it was the car alarm? Whoever owned the dirty Camaro was either following her…or he simply lived along this street. It was far too weird to be considered a coincidence. The crooning noise sounded again but it sort of calmed Elliett's nerves – it was sweet and innocent. After all, if the person wanted to hurt the girl they would have done so already, right?

Elliett smiled sadly, running a hand over the Camero's dusty hood. It was a bittersweet moment, kind of like the last time the two beings met each other.

"You know your owner really needs to get you cleaned. Then you'd be one handsome car. I'd bet a lot of girls would love you." The silver haired girl chuckled to herself. She trailed her whole hand down the car's hood, tracing an intricate design in the dust. The car purred, rolling forward just slightly – not enough for Elliett to notice the movement but she sure noticed the sound. It sounded like something a cat would make.

"I'll suppose you took that as a compliment, my metal friend." The silver haired girl chuckled again, looking down the street for Sam's house. There weren't that many houses on the street; she just needed to find the right one. Finally, she spotted it; the starry haired girl had to suppress her gasp when the Camaro nudged her in the direction of the brunette boy's house. It was a shock that the Camaro could even move at all!

"Alright, I'm going! Geeze, what a weird car." Elliett exclaimed, beginning to walk away. She waved with one arm as she meandered across the street, remembering to look both ways so not to get run over.

"See you later, sketchy possessed Camaro!" the silver haired teenager shouted as she continued down the street. She was unaware that the car bounced up and down a little – apparently it was in laughter. Seconds later she was standing in front of Sam's house. The troubled teen nervously rang the doorbell, fang biting into her lip as a cheery woman opened the door.

"Mrs. Witwicky? I'm Eliett…a friend of Sam's from school. Sam and I were going to go to the library today...but I forgot to ask him what time he wanted to go. I don't have a phone so the only thing I could do was to…come here…so…" the nervous girl rambled, twirling another strand of her starry colored hair around her finger. She was pleasantly surprised when Sam's mother started grinning.

"Oh my goodness, you're beautiful!" Sam's mother exclaimed, embracing the shocked teenager in a hug. Elliet's eyes were wide as she blinked, not used to so much physical contact. Sam's mother pulled back smiling, but her smile quickly faded when she noticed the dark red mark marring Elliett's face. It was starting to change colors to the deep blue and green of a bruise.

"Honey, what happened to your cheek?" the older woman asked, touching the mark softly with one of her hands. The silver haired girl immediately flinched from the pain, pulling back and plastering a quick façade on her face. She had become accustomed to lying and was quickly able to come up with a believable excuse.

"Oh, that? Funny story actually…this morning the door to my room was stuck and when it finally came unstuck, due to my constant pulling, I managed to hit myself in the face. I'm quite clumsy as you can probably see." Elliett laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment. The starry haired teenager was hoping that the older woman would believe her lye, sighing in relief when the red haired woman's face broke into a smile. Sam's mother laughed along with her, accepting the story as if nothing was wrong. Suddenly, the older woman gasped, smacking herself in the forehead cheerfully.

"Where are my manners? Please, come in…and call me Judy! Mrs. Witwicky makes me sound so old!" the bubbly woman exclaimed, taking Elliett by the hand and leading her into the kitchen. Sam and his father were arguing over something, not noticing the two females standing behind them. The argument was actually kind of funny, but Elliett wanted to get to the library sometime that day.

"Please, dad. I'm like the only guy at school without a car. It's like our pride. A car to me…is like your grass to you!" the brunette boy exclaimed, waving the hand that held his toast in the air. Elliett laughed, but managed to muffle the sound with her hand.

"Why not make a deal? I am a sensible man, after all." Mr. Witwicky said, stroking his face. It was then that Elliett jumped into the conversation.

"How about two thousand dollars and three A's. The cheapest cars I've seen around Tranquility are around two thousand…and it will be enough time for Sam's grade to improve. He'll have enough time to get the money since the third 'A' is in about a month." The silver haired girl quietly explained, twisting yet another strand of her starry colored hair around her finger.

"Elle! Hey! That's a good idea, right dad?" Sam asked, jumping to his feet and giving the silver haired girl a hug. His parents shared a knowing look above their heads, smiling at each other.

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable. I'll even match the two thousand to make it four thousand." Mr. Witwicky said, getting up to grab his keys.

"Do you need more time to eat breakfast, Sam? I don't want to interrupt anything." Elliett said, a frown marring her pretty face. The boy beside her shook his head, quickly finishing off the last of his toast.

"No, I'm fine. Let's go. C'mon, dad!" he exclaimed, gently taking hold of the silver haired girl's elbow and leading her from the house. Minutes later they arrived at the library; Sam's father told the two that he would be back before closing and that they were to not leave without calling him. It surprised Elliett that the older man cared for her – even if she were just a friend of his son. Perhaps it was because Sam had problems in the department of females.

A gentle tug on her shoulder strap brought the silver haired girl back to the present; the object of her affections was pulling her to an empty table, which was secluded from any of the windows and other people. Any other time and with any other person warning bells would be going off in her head, but this was Sam that they were talking about. He was such a gentleman. Once the two of them set their stuff down Sam placed his hands on his friend's shoulders, gently forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Elle, tell me the truth. Has Macon been hurting you outside of school? Is he the one who hit your face – don't tell me someone didn't. The mark is shaped like a handprint for Christ's sake!" Sam pleaded; his eyes were boring into his female friends.

"N-no. I hit my face with my door when I was pulling it unstuck. I don't get hit by others – I'm just clumsy!" Elliett said softly, looking down. Sam's heart clenched; all thoughts of studying were gone. His friend needed him and he would be damned if he couldn't help her.

"Your door isn't shaped like a hand, Elle. You can tell me. I want to help you…but I can only help if you let me." the brunette boy whispered, gently cupping her chin and turning her face so that she was looking at him again. Finally, she sighed, giving into Sam's pleading. She would have put up a fight if it was anyone else…but it was Sam. She couldn't say no to his pleading face. It was one of her only weaknesses.

"It was Edana…" Elliett whispered, a tear trailing down her face. Sam's confusion was evident as he ran his other hand through his hair.

"Who?" he asked, leading her over to a pile of plushy chairs in the corner. It was an old room; one rarely used in the library anymore but it was still open to the public.

"Edana…she's the owner of the orphanage. She's the one who slapped me." Elliett whispered, facing the other direction again. She was afraid that if she told Sam the truth he would shun her and ultimately reject their friendship.

"So…Macon hasn't been hurting you? I know he lives at the orphanage, too." Sam asked, looking intently at her quivering frame. It was then he noticed that she wasn't wearing the arm warmers she was always seen with…and a dark mark was encircling one of her wrists.

Sam reached out with a gentle hand and took Elliett's much smaller hand in his own, a frown marring his handsome features. He looked over the dark mark encircling her slender wrist, pulling the sleeve on her long sleeved shirt up. He gasped when he saw several circular scars; his eyes narrowed as he realized that they were burn scars. The silver haired girl bit her lower lip, several thoughts racing through her mind.

"I-I can't tell you…" she said, tears coming to her eyes once again. She yanked her hand from Sam's, scrambling to her feet. Ignoring the male teen's cry she grabbed her bag from the table, rushing towards the door of the old soundproof study room. She was faster than the male, but there was a throb in her knee from an old injury acting up. It was causing her to limp and her bag kept getting caught on some of the tables. He was going to catch up with her either way.

"Elle, wait!! I'm sorry!" Sam exclaimed as he scrambled to his feet as well, rushing after the silver haired girl. She didn't wait for him, instead rushing to the doors of the library; all thoughts of research were long gone.

With one last lunge Sam was able to wrap his arms around Elliett's thin frame, tightly holding her in a warm embrace. He tried to calm the silver haired girl down but he had little idea of what to do. Finally, he decided on whispering in her ear; after all, it was what they did in movies, right?

"I'm sorry. I won't mention it again, alright? Come back in with me and we'll start researching…ok?" he whispered as she calmed down. Slowly, almost cautionary, he released his grip from around Elliett's waist. He blushed, now realizing that one of his arms was dangerously close to touching one of her breasts. The silver haired girl seemed as if she didn't care, turning to face the brunette boy instead.

"No…I overreacted. I apologize. Let's go back." She whispered, avoiding the gaze of the brown eyed boy. Sam nodded, albeit a bit confused at her sudden change of character, but walked with her back to the soundproof study room. They settled back down on the plush chairs when Elliett suddenly turned to the boy sitting next to her.

"Sam…I….I want to tell you what's happening with me…but I just don't want you to think ill of me. You're my only friend, aside from Miles that is, and I don't want you to think any different of me. The thing is…I'm just not ready to tell you something like that…not yet." The explained; this time the tears were not coming but there was a look of both pleading and utter devastation embedded within her eyes. Sam's own widened before softening as his heart reached out for her. It seemed like the more time spent he with Elliett the more he started to fall for her instead of Mikaela.

"Elle, I'll always be your friend. Just promise me that you'll come to me if it gets bad or if you're in some kind of serious danger. Alright?" he asked, taking one of her hands in one of his larger ones once again. Her pale face broke into a sad smile as she nodded her head.

"I will." She said, leaning forward and pecking him on the cheek. Both of their cheeks flushed as the brunette boy cleared his throat.

"Good. So…what do you know about a guy named Archibald Witwicky?"