After the great time she had last night, Erica didn't think she'd have to spend Sunday with one of Michael's friends since he and Amanda were going out for a date. Apparently, their dates started at 3 in the afternoon and would last until eight. Tracey still didn't come back home and Erica found herself missing her even though she felt she barely knew her. She was in the car with Michael on her way to his friend, Franklin's, house. It was a shame, Amanda said, that Tracey couldn't babysit and Jimmy refused to watch the girl. At such short notice, there weren't many people available and Michael eventually decided to call Franklin. He did have plans, but he didn't mind if Erica tagged along. Amanda had agreed, only if said activities were legal. "Franklin's a good guy," Michael said as he drove her up the twisty hills to Franklin's house.

"I don't need a babysitter. I've always watched myself," Erica said, crossing her arms.

"You're still a kid. If something happens, you'll want someone older there," Michael explained.

"I know how to take care of myself," she pouted.

"Well, he'll be working on his car so he probably won't be bothering you."

"Why am I even here if you and Amanda are just going to dump me off to a stranger's house?" she questioned him without even glancing in his direction.

"Sometimes adults need time to themselves. Amanda and I are spending the rest of the afternoon together."

"Like a date?" Erica perked.

"Yeah, a date."

"Well, why didn't you say so?"

"I would have if it made you less angry all day," Michael laughed. Eventually, Michael pulled into a driveway with a large house. Erica began to wonder if everyone in Los Santos lived in luxury while she was forced to live in poverty. The red head stood at the door with Michael and an African American man in his mid-twenties answered the door. Introductions were made before Michael left Erica in Franklin's care. She sat on the couch, declining any offers for food or something to drink. She took out her tablet and began to read her book.

"You're a real simple kid," Franklin said to her. Frowning, Erica looked up at him and wondered why on Earth Amanda and Michael would let this guy keep an eye on her. She hated the term babysitter because that meant she was an infant. In reality, she felt she was an independent girl who didn't need anyone. If it was up to her, she'd be homeless and live on the streets by herself. Her three attempts at running away hadn't really worked out. Her first one was when she was five, but she barely made it to the edge of the street. The last two were in the past year and she always ended up getting caught.

"Not particularly," she grumbled before she turned back to her book.

"So, you're Michael's niece?" he asked, trying to start up conversation. "I see you like to read."

"It passes the time," she shrugged. Franklin's cell phone went off and he checked his text message. He then began to furiously type on the touch screen with his thumbs. Erica wondered what he was sending, but kept herself from questioning him.

"My friend Johnny's comin' over to hang. You mind?" Franklin asked.

"It's your house," Erica said, but made sure to smile in order to be polite. She wasn't sure whether or not she liked Franklin, but he seemed to be okay. Before Johnny arrived, Erica put down her tablet and began watching television. He had given her the remote and she had turned on an old black and white movie from the forties. She loved movies from this time period, and she was so happy a classic had just started. She wished she could look like these actresses with their beautifully styled hair, their pretty clothes and simple high heels.

She ignored the front door when Franklin got up to answer it. She was captivated by the movie, one of her absolute favorites. She had taken the DVD from the library multiple and watched it on one of the library's computers. She knew the librarian and she was one of the few people she liked back in North Yankton. However, even when she had confessed everything about her home life, the woman had failed her and never contacted child services or the authorities. "Hey, Franklin said you're Erica," a boy said who seemed to be rather tall compared to Erica. He easily had a good foot on her. Despite this, she knew he was still a kid due to the fact he still had a boy's voice. It was slightly deeper than a little boy, but definitely not developed at all. She turned towards him, his presence unexpected.

"Yeah. Who are you?" she asked him.

"Jason Mcnamara," he introduced himself. "My brother, Johnny's friends with Franklin."

"Where'd they go?" Erica questioned him.

"Outside to work on their cars. My bro's all about cars," he explained. He was rather skinny, Erica noted, and his hair was jet black which contrasted with his whiteness. His skin tone was darker than hers, though, showing that he lived his entire life in San Andreas. "So, I haven't seen you around before. What school you go to?"

"I'm going to start going to Los Santos Elementary on Monday. I'm staying with my aunt and uncle for a few months," Erica explained.

"Cool, what grade you in?"

"Fourth," she responded. "You?"

"Fifth. But we'll at least have recess and lunch together."

"Are you proposing that we're already friends?" she scrunched her nose.

"Are you proposing we can't be friends?" he joked.

"I never really had friends before. I keep to myself," she shrugged.

"Well then, Erica, I think you'll have to make an exception for me," he stated proudly.

"Are you generally this friendly?"

"Yes and no. Only to the people I like. What are you watching?" Jason asked to change the subject. Erica explained to him that she was watching a movie from 1940 and it was called Rebecca. She told him the general plot and what happened before he arrived. He decided to watch it with her and listened to her to give it a chance. Erica hoped she wasn't boring him but she desperately wanted to watch this. Eventually, the movie ended. "I wonder if Franklin has any games around here," Jason said. "Well, I know he does but I have no idea where they are."

"What game do you want to play?" Erica asked him.

"I don't even know," Jason said as he rummaged around in random drawers and cabinets. "But I found a deck of cards. You know any card games?"

"War and go fish," she answered.

"War it is!" Jason exclaimed. They sat on the floor and Jason began to shuffle and divvy up the cards. Erica wondered why he was being so nice to her and she wondered why she was so comfortable around him. Maybe it was because nobody knew her here and people didn't know her as the girl with the bruises and cuts. He didn't know she had to wear the same dress more than once sometimes because her mother forgot to do the wash or she forgot to buy detergent. Jason had no idea that she didn't have money for lunch, so she would always sit alone and away from the food so that her stomach didn't hurt more than it already did from the hunger. In Los Santos, she always had access to food. Michael and Amanda made sure she had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It had only been three days since her arrival, but it already seemed more promising than most places she lived. In Los Santos, maybe she could be a normal kid with friends.

The two began flipping cards, trying to gain the full deck to win the game. Jason ended up winning, but it was quite the battle. It had been four hours since Jason's arrival and the two began to wonder what Franklin and Johnny were doing out there for so long. Jason had opted to go see what was going on, and they had finished doing whatever it was they were doing to their cars, but were just talking about women. Jason had made a face when he mentioned it to Erica. "And what's wrong with women?" she questioned.

"Nothing, nothing. Just the way they talk about them is gross," Jason explained.

"What do you mean?" Erica asked.

"You don't wanna know. I don't even wanna know," he laughed.

"Okay. I think I'm going to read now," she said. She went over to the couch and took out her tablet to read.

"Then what am I gonna do?" he asked her.

"Whatever it is you do," Erica said. She was a bit antisocial at times. She considered herself an introvert when it came to socializing.

"Come on," Jason persisted. "Have any games on that thing?"

"A few. Why do you ask?"

"Let's play them!"

"No, I'd rather read," Erica replied. However, she did enjoy his company. "Fine. I'll let you play. I'm not good at them." She opened up one of her games which was literally impossible. However, Jason seemed to really enjoy it despite dying multiple times. In order for her to watch, she had to sit close to him. Being close to people always made her uncomfortable, but it was strange how she was becoming comfortable around a select few, Jason being one of them and the other being her cousin Tracey. Erica wanted to like Amanda, she truly did, but the resemblances to her mother were somewhat scary. She had to remind herself that Amanda didn't have the scars on her face from picking at her skin, nor did she ever go to hit her.

Speaking of scars, Erica hadn't noticed that Jason stopped playing the game after multiple failed attempts and was tracing one of her own scars that was on her forearm. It was faint, but noticeable if the light hit it right. "Where'd you get that?" Jason asked her.

"I fell when I was little," she shrugged.

"I don't believe you," he persisted. Erica felt the tears coming to her eyes when she remembered where she got that scar and exactly how she got it. She felt that Jason had backed her into a corner since she found she couldn't simply lie to him. He could see right through her lie and she knew she could be bad at it sometimes, especially when it came to her scars. Her inability to lie about them had led her into three different foster care families that she wished she never met.

"My mommy's not nice," Erica decided to say. Despite her tendency to act older than her age, she was still nine and had that childlike affinity to say too much.

"Oh man, I'm sorry, Erica," Jason said. "You don't have to talk about it."

"Thanks," she gave him a small smile.

"You have an email? My bro won't let me get a LifeInvader yet," Jason changed the subject. "This way we can talk and stuff."

"No, but I guess I can make one now," Erica shrugged. Using her tablet, Jason typed in Franklin's wifi password and began to make Erica her very own email. She had never thought to make one before, but it would be cool to type to Jason late at night underneath the covers when Amanda and Michael thought she was sleeping. She truly liked Jason and she hoped that she wasn't too obsessed with the idea of having a friend (if he could be considered a friend) because she really hadn't had any before. She was surprised that he wasn't judging her and shunning her because of the scar her mother had given her. It had been late at night and her mother was high on something. She tried to inject the drug into Erica, but failed when the red head yanked her arm away, creating a large gash in her arm. When the school nurse saw it a few days later when her arm became infected, she had been put through many tests after she told them it was a drug needle. Obviously, this led her to being put into the care of a foster family.

Eventually, Franklin and Johnny made their way into the house, plopping down on the couch with the two kids. They each had a beer and were talking about cars or something. Erica just hoped they wouldn't talk about women like the way Jason said she wouldn't want to hear. "Erica, Mike's gonna be here to pick you up in an hour and I didn't really get to know you," Franklin said. "Talk about yourself."

"Umm…there's nothing really to tell," Erica replied nervously. "I like to read. I love the 1920s and old movies. That's about it, I guess."

"Shit, does Michael know you like old movies?" Franklin asked.

"No," she shook her head.

"Oh man, you should tell him. He loves those boring old movies."

"Hey, they aren't that boring," Jason spoke up. "I watched one with Erica today and it really wasn't that bad."

"Really? I didn't think Michael would like them," Erica said. She was glad to finally have something in common with a family member. It made her feel more at ease to know she wasn't so different from everyone else, including her family. She smiled and wondered if Michael had a ton of great movies they could watch together.

Someone knocked on the door and Franklin went to answer it. To Erica's dismay, it was Jimmy. She was hoping Michael would have come to get her like he promised earlier mostly due to the fact it wouldn't be a surprise since she'd rather expect things rather than them being thrown in her face. Also, she wanted to spark up a conversation with Michael with her newfound information. When Franklin told her Jimmy was here to pick her up, she was upset. She would have cried if Jason wasn't there but for some reason she felt she couldn't make herself look like a wimp in front of him. Jimmy came in for a moment, talking to Franklin and Johnny who joined him. Thinking quickly, Erica grabbed Jason's hand and dragged him down the stairs, skillfully sneaking by the adults. "What are you doing?" Jason asked her.

"I don't like him," Erica stated.

"Who, Franklin?"

"No, Jimmy."

"How come?" Jason asked.

"He's not very nice and I don't trust him," Erica replied.

"I'm sure he's fine. Franklin seems to know him," Jason tried to assure her. "Has he hurt you before?"

"No, but you never know."

"Hey, you'll be fine," Jason said when the adults began to shout for them.

"And if I'm not?"

"I'll be your slave for a week at recess. I'll do whatever you want."

"You seem confident."

"That's because I am. Come on," Jason said, taking her hand and leading her up the stairs. "Let's go."

Erica promised to email Jason when she got back to the mansion. She felt so happy that she made a friend and wondered if he'd keep his promise and see her at lunch and recess. What if he was lying? What if his friends didn't like her? She decided not to think about it and deal with the doom she had to face with a half hour ride home with her cousin. She climbed into the back seat of the red car Jimmy drove (she noticed it was Amanda's) and strapped herself in. Jimmy didn't say a word to her when he started the engine and began to drive off.

It was a silent drive for about ten minutes. Erica kept to herself as she read her book on her tablet. "Why do you read so much?" Jimmy finally asked her. She refused to look up and continue staring down at the glowing screen. She wondered if he truly disliked or if he was annoyed at her presence.

"Why do you play video games so much?" she countered.

"Touché," he replied.

"I do it because it's an escape from reality," she decided to answer. What harm could it do?

"Interesting," Jimmy said in his annoying voice. "What else do you do?"

"Nothing really. There wasn't much for me to do in North Yankton. I'd walk to the library sometimes and use the internet and watch movies, but that's about it," she shrugged. Erica was surprised Jimmy wasn't laughing at her answers like her mother did. Usually, her mother would say how much trouble she was and that reading would only get her into trouble someday. Reading was for people with no lives who didn't know how to have fun, her mother would say, and it made people crazy and that's where people got ideas to grab a gun and rob a store, a bank, or murder people. Her mother believed books shouldn't be glorified, but maybe that was because she was probably dyslexic. Erica had her suspicions, but it could have just been the drugs.

"Yeah, that place was pretty boring," Jimmy agreed. She recalled that the De Santa's had lived there once and moved by the time she was born. She wondered what it would have been like to grow up with them a few trailers down the road.

"At least you had Tracey. It's just me and it gets lonely."

"I guess. Tracey was kinda bossy back then."

"I'd imagine older sisters are," Erica smiled, finally looking away from Shakespeare. "But I like Tracey though. Is she home?"

"No, she's been out for a few days. She rarely comes home," Jimmy explained. Erica frowned since she missed the blonde dearly. She hoped Tracey would come home soon so they could talk about things. She'd tell Tracey about Jason and how he was her friend now and how they were going to email each other. She wanted to tell her how one of her favorite movies was on television when Franklin was babysitting her. She wanted to laugh with Tracey how she could have stayed home alone since Franklin was outside with his friend the entire time. But she would say how glad she was because she met Jason.

"How come you came to pick me up when Michael and Amanda didn't even want me staying home with you?" Erica asked.

"I guess they just trusted me to pick you up," Jimmy shrugged. Erica wondered if Michael and Amanda got high like her mother, but she shook that thought out of her head. They didn't look like they were drug people. If they were, they wouldn't have been this attentive to her. "Look, they wanted to surprise you when you got home. They bought you a bunch of clothes. I can tell you wouldn't like surprises. Just pretend you're like totally shocked when you open your closet, okay?"

"I can do that," Erica replied. "How did you know I didn't like surprises?"

"Because I don't like them, either."


First of all, I'd like to thank SuperVegetaSSJ2 for Jason and Johnny!

Next, I'd like to thank everyone who reads, reviews and/or favorites. I honestly had no idea people would take a liking to this story in the numbers I've seen. Since this story is more popular than I thought, I will not be able to use every OC that is submitted. If you submit one, I will let you know in a PM whether or not I will be using him/her.

An OC that I will be on the look out for will be the music/drama teacher. If nobody submits one, I'll just come up with one on my own when the time comes. Thanks again!