Again, I can't put into words how much I appreciate the support. I really can't. I'm so in love with every review I get and if you could see me, it'd be pretty funny to look at. I get so excited when I see a review and such.

Anyway, some stuff about the chapter, the story, and yet another review I'd like to discuss.
Okay, but really first. THE NEW AUSTIN AND ALLY PROMO. OH MY GOD. ILLUSION IS LIKE GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME. AUSTIN LOOKS HOT IN IT. AND ROSS'S VOICE. GOOD GOD, HE SOUNDS WONDERFUL. BUT OMG, NO, ALLY. My heart broke when Austin started singing Without You in the slow tone. The episode looks so good, but I hope it ends well. :( It made me so sad and happy at the same time.

Okay, onto actually story stuff.
About the chapter. Trish is in this and you'll like how she's still the same Trish in the way that she dresses. It's not very much about her character in this chapter, but you meet her and find out about her past. And well, Marie in this chapter is also very important. It's just... you'll see. I think Rocky's part too is important and if you read between the lines of the last few words in his section, you'll realize something just happened between them as friends. You'll see. Austin comes back in the next chapter.

I HAVE A BANNER FOR THE STORY NOW. You can thank a person from one of the 1D boards who made it for me, and her name is on the banner. Here it is.
arielff (dot here) tumblr (dot here) com It's on that page, a few posts down. Ignore my spazzing about my other story banner, lol.

And well, it's amazing. I love the Auslly hug! I wanted to put all the characters in the banner but it would be too cluttered, I think. Anyway, that's the banner. I'm so excited.

As for the review. And I've thought about this review for a long time. This is a response to Sera's review and I'm not going to state in full what it says, but I will say in short it says I use the F word too much in the story and that it's offensive to those who have actually had bad lives. Now, I have a potty mouth and I admit it but when I read that, I went back and looked through all the chapters and came to the conclusion that I've used the word twice. Once, in the first chapter in the prologue. And once when Jade is defending herself. In over 15,000 words and with a character list of people who are more likely to use bad language when angry.
Now, I thought long and hard how I was going to respond to this when I saw I've used it twice when in reality, I probably say the word at least a dozen times a day. And it wasn't the fact that someone said they didn't like the word in the story. I get it, some of the readers might be younger, as disney's audience is usually in preteens or such. But, I stated before the story started it was a mature story and had dark themes. Which whatever. Fine. iT was the fact that Sera, you stated that it's offensive to those who have had bad lives. Now, I don't have anywhere as many issues as the kids in the story, and nor do I feel that I've had a bad life by any means, but I had a pretty messed up childhood and I've referred to it as f'd on many occasions. I can't say for anyone else, but I've never considered the term offensive when I've used it, and I have friends who had worse lives than I have and they use it as well.
A part of me wanted to simply tell you, 'F OFF" and say it's one review. But I honestly can't see where I was wrong in this and I once more, will state. This is my story. I feel both times I used the word were fine, and if you don't like it, stop reading. I also asked for a few others opinions in what they thought and the few I asked told me if I was over using curse words, they'd let me know. I can't say for everyone, but as of right now, how I use the word stays. All I can say is if you don't like it, you can stop reading. I won't be offended and I don't need the review telling me so. I guess we're even now because your review offended me, as I've done nothing wrong in my eyes, and in others too.
I apologize to my readers who had to sit through and read that, as I would have handled this through a PM but it was a guest review. I always welcome feedback and as one reader (Brz) can tell you, I'm not going to attack anyone over contructive critism. I will, still let you know that it is my story and I write what happens. There are plenty of other stories which are a lot less dark and a lot more fun. I can suggest a few, if you'd like. But this is my story and I will continue it how I want.
Thanks.

Anyway, sorry for the long wait in this chapter when it shouldn't have been as long of one. The review got to me and got me from writing for a few days. I hope this chapter is good and I think you'll enjoy Trish's character as she continues in the story. Please let me know what you think! Enjoy!


Ally was surprised to see Rocky actually trying to be nice to everyone when they got back to the shelter. At that point, everyone was out of their rooms and having fun, so she could only assume that Marie had given up on her own sob story and was letting everyone live, or she had completely broken down somewhere and would never be the same.

Still, as Ally sat with Riker who was watching his friend play with interest, she couldn't help but feel a bit better about the entire day. Music was her life in so many ways still, and hearing someone play around her gave her entire body a moment to relax.

And Rocky was GOOD. Like, really damn good. The others were enjoying it too, even Jade who obviously had a problem with the moody teen. They were eating the smores Ally had prepared an hour ago, laughing and talking to each other. It was a completely different feeling from the day before. But when you deal with kids who have been through a lot, sometimes things are easier to bounce back from then she realized.

"So, I saw him in the road and he acted like he didn't know me."

Riker raised his eyebrows.

"Austin was there. I could tell from the second he looked at me, Riker. It was him. And he ran. Something is wrong. A part of me wants to search the city until I find him, drag him here and make sure he's okay. And then the other part of me knows better." Ally silently added, that you could only help someone who wanted to be. And if he was running, he didn't want help; or even to be found.

Suddenly, from across the room, something crashed to the floor. It was Rocky standing over Oliver now, looking furious at the younger boy. His fists were clenched and his dark eyes were almost glowing a deep red. He was ready to hit him when Ally yelled, "Stop!"

He glared at him then looked at Ally. "Forget I ever bothered with any of this," he snapped angrily, storming off down the hallway toward his room.

Oliver looked up sadly from where his was cowering on the floor. "All I asked if where he learned to play like that," he said in a soft voice. "He just snapped. Like, I've never seen."

Ally looked toward where the angry teen had stormed off to, wondering what that had to do with anything. With a sigh, she helped up the shaking Oliver and decided some things never changed. But against her better judgment, she walked toward his room and knocked on the door. Ally heard slamming and things crashing, and feared the worst. Biting down on her lip, she wondered if Marie could do more, but deep down, knew the woman was afraid of the boy and thought he was hopeless. Not Ally, but she too was afraid of what he could be capable of.

"Rocky, it's me," she said softly, as the crashing stopped. "I'm not here to fight and I'm not blaming you for anything. Can you please just open the door? Please?"

Nothing.

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

The door creaked open. "Since the hell when do I matter to any of you?"

Ally took a step back. "Since when don't you?" she questioned back.

"I know the way Marie talks about me," he said in a dark tone. "I heard her today. I worry her. Not in the way her golden boy worries her," he spat darkly again. "I have nothing against Riker, I really don't but its shit that she picks favorites here. If you could, she'd ship me away in a second. Just like she did to Dez. Once we get too much to handle, I bet that's what happened. Don't you remember that kid from a few months ago?"

Ally sighed inwardly. There were a lot of kids that disappeared from here, some on their own, some by force. Marie didn't like when kids became too much to handle, and honestly, it was a miracle that he was still around. "I'm not going there, Rocky."

He laughed with a roll of his eyes. "It's obvious who she thinks is worth it and who isn't. If I had someone else I could go, I would because this shithole isn't worth it, Ally. You're nice. I get it. I like you, I do but it's not worth it. I'm shocked you're still here but you're too worried yourself about Riker going off the deepend that you'll stay until they throw you onto the street. Face it, it's true. You may all think I'm going to explode someday and kill someone, but I'm not as out of control as you think I am."

And he wasn't as in control as he thought he was, either Ally thought sadly. "Look, as long as I'm here, you're not alone in this. Say what you want about me, but I care about all of you."

"You think I need help," he snapped back. "I heard that part of the conversation too," he added when she looked a bit surprised.

"You do need help, Rocky," she said in the calmest tone she could muster. "But that doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't too. You're not insane, Rocky. Actually, I think you're damn talented, but you're angry with everything around you and anger has only caused the world pain."

Rocky laughed at her words but sighed too. "Ally, the world isn't just words and I'm glad you think that it is, but you have a hell of a lot to learn about the world if you think this is all fixable by music." He looked away for a moment, and Ally swore he was somewhere else for those few seconds. She wanted to say something, anything but it was clear the only thing he did trust was himself and that was part of the problem.

"It might not be," she said when he finally looked back at her, "but it definitely is fixable. You just have to let someone in."

They stared at each other for a long time before Rocky looked away and finally started to close the door again. "Not tonight," he said.

Ally felt so depressed after her conversation with Rocky, that she sat alone in her house just thinking of the shelter. She did this often lately, but now, she just felt like it was all falling apart. No one trusted the owner anymore and she didn't trust anyone. Including her boss.

Rocky was right in so many ways though; favorites were picked, especially by Marie and even by Ally. It was true that she spent most of her time with Riker and Rydel, but that was because they liked her company and Rocky often shut himself into his room. She couldn't be with him if he was trying to continue being him. Oliver and Jade often stuck together and kept to themselves, so it wasn't like she really could get close to them. And they didn't really need much help, either. And well, Ratliff. He was just a mess all the time and Ally wouldn't be surprised if she entered the place one day and he was up and gone. He wandered a lot already and was surprised he had stayed as long as he did.

As a recovering drug addict, he had learned to stay away from other people; especially those who could make him relapse. Apparently that was everyone in his mind.

Ally was still thinking about this the next day when she wandered inside after her morning of yoga and noticed how quiet it was again. It dawned on her then. The social worker was supposed to come in that day. Something was wrong. She could feel it.

Ally rushed down the hallway toward Riker's room and didn't make it there before she bumped into a small but down to business looking Latino girl, who jumped back in response. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized before the woman could say a word. "I'm often clumsy, just ask Riker! He always says I bump into things too much, but people are my new thing! I'm so sorry!"

The woman chuckled and put a smile on her face. Her curly long hair was pulled back into a clip and she was dressed in a pink shirt with matching sparkly pumps and a black tote to match. "I'm Trish Pereez; I'm here today to look over the shelter. You must be Ally. Rydel has told me so much about you."

Rydel liked to chat, but she couldn't help but wonder why her name would come up in conversation. It seemed like Marie would have been the one to say something, not her. "You know Rydel already?" she couldn't help but ask.

Trish smiled. "I've known Rydel for a long time."

She looked so young though, to be a social worker… and well very loudly dressed. "Oh."

"Is Marie around? I have yet to see her and I'm a bit concerned that you're the first person I've run into. When I was last here… there was much more help…" Trish trailed off, looking around her with disapproving eyes. Ally knew the look already; she thought lowly of the place and you couldn't blame the woman. They were very much screwed.

As Ally went to say she could show her to the office, Marie appeared, looking much more put together than yesterday. Plastering a fake encouraging smile on her face, she looked almost delighted to see the social worker, the one she had dreaded even talking about yesterday. "Trish! You look wonderful. How are you dear? It's been such a long time now!"

Trish turned around. "Marie!"

"You two know each other?"

Marie stiffened a bit, seeing that she had met Ally already. "Trish has history with my shelter, Ally. Perhaps after today is over, she can tell you sometime." Trish smiled a bit, going back into business mode. "The shelter looks very full with kids, Marie. But there are other issues I'd like to discuss with you, if you don't mind." She smiled apologetically at Ally. "Alone, if you wouldn't mind."

Ally took the hint and went to find the others who were all well hidden despite their usual craziness. She found Rydel and Riker in his room, watching TV. Rocky's door was still closed and the other three too were well and quiet. She sat down on the bed, looking down the hallway where Trish and Marie were talking in hushed tones, even though you could clearly see both were not happy. Trish was pointing down toward them, and Marie was throwing her hands up in the air.

"This isn't good," Rydel said.

"Can I ask you something, Rydel?"

Rydel's face brightened at the sound of Ally's voice, which had remained silent since entering minutes ago. "Of course."

"Trish said that she had history here. You've been here longest. What does she mean?"

"Trish?" Rydel gushed excitedly. "Used to live here a long time ago. She's in her twenties now, but when I had first started living here, she was getting ready to leave. She showed me a lot of what living here was like. She was so nice and knew so much about life and I wish I had gotten to know her better." Rydel stopped to admire the still upset looking girl and then sighed. "She got a full ride to be a social worker, said it was what her heart needed her to do. She wanted to help kids like us."

Ally stared back at the others again, wondering how different the shelter was back then. There was probably more help and there were actual people helping the kids in general. Obviously it was a wake up call to Marie to see one of her former kids coming back, but not in the way she wanted.

"I really liked her," Rydel continued. "You remind me a lot of her, actually. You were always so nice even when I didn't know you. You didn't mind that I talk a lot, and you liked being around me."

"I still do," Ally insisted. "You're great and have a wonderful taste in clothes."

Rydel giggled. Riker rolled his eyes, and got up.

"Sick of girl talk?" Ally teased. He nodded with a weak smile and motioned to Oliver's room. As he left, Ally looked back down the hallway and felt everything inside of her sink at what was happening.

"I can't let this continue this time, Marie," her voice was loud now and Marie was sobbing. She had her hands in her face and even though Trish looked like she wanted to cry herself, she continued her loud rant. Her voice softened and Ally leaned toward the door, trying to hear the next part. "I've let your shelter slide now for a few years but this is just ridiculous now, Marie. You have no help and some of these kids have never seen a single person about their problems. I can't keep putting my ass on the line for you anymore. It's putting my job at risk and I know you can do better than this." Trish was crying now and she put her arm on the older woman. "You gave me my life back, but I don't know if you have the ability to do that anymore."

"You can't just close down my shelter," Marie sobbed. "These kids have no other place. Maybe I'm not capable anymore, but these kids… Riker, Rydel… where would they go?"

"I didn't say I would shut the place down," Trish said softly, wiping away her tears. "But I can tell, Marie. You're bottles aren't water ones and that's not how we do things, especially not when kids lives' are at stake. These kids deserve to know how good the world can be and they don't have that right now. Ally is a great person. I talked to Rydel and Riker agreed, and I think she is capable of great things once she's older and got more experience. I can see it in her eyes, she's got what it takes but she isn't right now. She's a kid herself and needs some time to actually be one."

"What are you going to do?"

Marie was getting hysterical again, and Trish pulled her away from the rooms where everyone lived. "I've got someone coming later," Trish muttered. "They'll start looking into hiring some help for the place, but I think it's best if you resign and let someone take over. I know several people who would love the chance to help at the agency and wouldn't mind until you are able to get yourself together."

Marie just sobbed.

"I'll watch over the place until we get it situated, but I think it's best if you let me call somewhere and get you some help as well, Marie. I care about you and I want you to do what's best for you. If you let me do this, it'll be done quietly and down the line, maybe you could come back at some point. This way, you won't lose your license and you'll know the kids will be in good hands. I won't let anything happen to any of them. I know you trust me. Let me help you."

Marie stood up and with a shaky nod, decided to hand over the place to Trish. Ally was shocked as she watched Trish lead her down a hallway and it seemed a group had formed and saw what had just transpired. Rydel was crying, as Marie was all she had ever known herself, and Riker just looked shocked.

"What just happened," Jade whispered from where she stood.

"And what happens now," Rydel said too, looking sad.

Ally just stood shocked at what she had just seen, and wondered too what would happen next.