You know, I love you guys. I haven't gotten this many reviews in such a short time in...well, ever. Thanks a lot you guys!

Sorry this one took so long. I've been busy, but this one's a lot longer to make up for it. Expect more chapters that are longer but take more time to get out in the future.

Chapter five; Ellie Nobody

Ellie felt very strange, as if she were intruding on the peaceful stillness that Marco called home.

Marco's mother was very short, very large, and very motherly. She ushered Ellie up the stairs, clucking her tongue as she unabashedly examined her scratches. Ellie knew she must have looked horrible- her shirt and the skirt were ripped, her shoulders caked with dry blood and bruised, there were scraped on her face and knee from colliding with Marco, and she was sure her make-up was running from her tears. All in all, she looked exactly like a homeless person should.

Because that was what she now- homeless. Her own mother had kicked her out and Ellie had no doubt she would be gone the next afternoon. Her father wouldn't be home for another couple of months and when he went on his next mission, she'd be left alone in an empty house. It was a very bleak looking situation.

Her shirt was all ready ripped, so she ripped the rest of the shoulder from it, so Mrs. Del Rosi could reach her scratches. She was clucking disapprovingly as she examined them, before she cleaned them with warm water and soup. Ellie gasped at the pain but said nothing.

"How about I find you some new clothes, yes?" Mrs. Del Rosi asked her helpfully. "I find you something." She was off before Ellie could nod in the affirmative.

It took her a while, so Ellie closed the lid of the toilet and sat down on it, scuffing her feet nervously against the floor. She glanced around. His house was nice- clean and homely. Ellie had been inside it many times before but never really taken in the homely feel of it- it was such a sharp contrast to what she had just experienced that she seemed to notice everything about it.

Mrs. Del Rosi came back with a muted burgundy shirt that was probably hers judging by the size. It would surely hang to Ellie's knees, if not farther. In her other hand she held a pair of very familiar looking jeans. Ellie stared.

"Are those- Marco's jeans?" she finally asked.

"Marco is a small boy, very short, very thin. They should fit you," she said unconcernedly. Ellie nodded and took the clothes, before retreating into the bathroom and closing the door. She stared at the clothes. Not only did they look like something she would never in her right mind wear, it would be rather odd, wearing Marco's jeans. She silently prayed they wouldn't fit.

She peeled off her skirt and ripped fishnet hose first, examining the now bandaged scratches. Then she cautiously pulled on the jeans, praying furiously that Marco was smaller than her- he had always seemed very skinny. They fit.

"Ohh," Ellie groaned, examining them in the mirror. They were one of his looser pairs, distinctly older and more worn than the ones he had adapted lately. She frowned and thought hopefully that the shirt would cover most of them and he wouldn't notice.

The shirt was even worse, hanging past her knees. She had to roll the sleeves several times before she could use her hands, and the style being so different from what she usually wore, she was barely recognizable. She washed off her runny make-up and finger combed her hair, leaving her looking like an all-new person. She frowned in to the mirror, but reminded herself that Marco's family was taking her in for the night no questions asked, so she figured she should be grateful.

After she came down the stairs, Mrs. Del Rosi grinned widely with pride, but Mr. Del Rosi just snorted and went back to pursuing a phone book, which Ellie ignored. But Marco gapped at her.

"Are you sure you're Ellie?" he asked her with a slight grin.

"Rub it in, Marco."

"I'll be sure to do- are those my jeans?" he asked suddenly, his mouth opening widely. Ellie blushed and he turned a delicate shade of green when his mother nodded affirmatively. "Oh- ew."

Ellie raised her eyebrows- she'd never heard Marco say 'ew' before.

"Dinner's finished," Marco's mother said, ushering them towards the kitchen.

Ellie followed Marco into the dinning area, wondering how long it had been since her family had sat down to a real dinner. She finally remembered that it was the last time her father had come home from a mission, nearly six months before. Her mother had dressed in her best clothes, put on make-up and a string of pearls, and made a fancy dinner. Her father, however, had been exhausted from work and ate very little, before retreating to bed. Her mother had drank worse than usual that night.

The Del Rosi's did their best to make her feel comfortable; piling lavish amounts of pasta onto her plate, offering to refill her drink, and smiling widely at her. It was a sharp contrast to what she got at home.

The dinner was delicious, though the conversation was strained.

"So, Ellie, I make you up a bed on the couch, is that okay?" Mr. Del Rosi asked her through his thick accent. She nodded, and licked her dry lips.

"I'm sorry," she told them. "I don't mean to impose. I'll find somewhere else to go for tomorrow night-"

"El! You don't have to do that," Marco said hastily. "D-does she?"

Mr. Del Rosi opened his mouth, but his wife beat him to it.

"No, you stay as long as you need, okay? We can even take you home, you can get clothes and such, Marco will help you." Ellie smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, I- well, just, thank you."

"You're welcome," Mrs. Del Rosi said with a bright smile. "Marco go with you tomorrow, you get some clothes, some money, you be all set!"

Ellie nodded with a swallow. Would the house be empty, she wondered. Or would her mother be there, passed out on the couch with a hangover? She never went to work while her father was on a mission- he was most of the time- so when she did work it was at drive-ins and diners.

"Ash and Sean could even come too, if it would help you," Marco offered. Ellie smiled gratefully.

"I think I'd like that. This pasta is delicious Marco, Mrs. Del Rosi."

"Thank you. But please, call me Maddalena, I don't mind," she told Ellie.

It was odd, Ellie realized, that she had been close to Marco for so long, been to his house and met his parents, but never really gotten to know them. They were nice and accommodating.

After dinner, she helped Mr. Del Rosi make up a bed for her on the couch. He eyed her strangely the entire time, before finally just coming out and speaking to her.

"I want to call your mother. I don'a trust you, I want to know what's going on," he said, which frightened her slightly. She didn't want this loving, comforting family to see what a horrible home life she had.

"Please, I'll tell you what's going on-"

"I call your mother," he said stubbornly. She nodded and looked at the floor slightly, before picking up a pad and paper and writing down the number for him. She could almost understand where he came from. Then she left the room with her head low, eyes downcast, wandering up to Marco's, feeling very putout.

Marco opened the door on the first knock and ushered her in, noting her eyes, practically glued to the ground.

"What did he do this time?" Marco asked her without prevail. He knew his father well.

"Nothing. Any responsible adult would have done the same- I mean, wouldn't they? I'm probably blowing this out of proportion, letting it get to me- I look like the type of kid who would try to get away with this- it only comes with being responsible...right?"

"Ellie, I have no idea what you're talking about. Please slow down and explain," he said soothingly, ushering her to his bed and rubbing her back as she sat down. He couldn't help but think she looked very different in different clothes, with her bare face and strait hair.

"He's going to call my mother- I just- I understand, but...she's drunk! Marco, I don't want your parents knowing I'm trash like that-"

"You are not trash," Marco snapped. "My parents are not going to judge you by that."

There was an awkward silence.

"But she's drunk and angry- in a crazed rage..." she protested weakly.

"I know El...I know. I don't know how, but it's going to get better."

"I hope so," she whispered. Marco suddenly stiffened, his head cocked towards the wall.

"They're going into the living room. This is our chance," he told her.

Ellie raised her eyebrows at him questioningly.

"The vent, we can listen through the vent. My room is directly above the living room," he told her. They shared a glance, before barreling across the room to the vent, foreheads knocking together as they went in to listen.

"Her mother- very drunk, and not marry about it at all," his father's voice drifted up faintly.

"Very?"

"Molto," his father said grimly. Marco avoided looking at Ellie. "She even said Ellie was...how you say-non famiglia della parte."

"Not part of the family?" Maddalena gasped. "She didn't disown her, no?"

"Perhaps. She was very drunk, hard to tell, I think she just decide- Oh, I disown daughter tonight. No reason, she just ramble on- bla di bla di bla." Mr. Del Rosi sighed. "We keep her a few days, but we must talk to the please-man, they will know what to do." There was a silence, then the creaking of the floorboards, and then footsteps on the stairs.

"I'm so sorry Ellie," Marco said simply, hesitantly touching her hand. She jerked away and walked to the door quickly, jerking it open.

"You see how well you have it?" she asked him viciously. "That's why you shouldn't mess it up and tell your parents what you are. That's why you shouldn't even be what you are." She slammed the door, and her footsteps echoed hollowly as she stomped down the stairs.

Ellie slept horribly. The blankets were warm and comforting, the house silent and embracing around her, but yet- she could not sleep. She was used to the deserted smallness of their house- the way the little shack sat in the middle of no where, the way the house creaked and settled all night long. And it was hard to sleep, knowing that she was no longer her mother's daughter. She was Ellie Nobody.

Once she finally slept, she was plagued with dreams.

A house loomed above her on a hill, high and gothic and big. Ashley waved at her from the window, dressed in full Goth attire, her own mother waving back at her from beside Ellie. Then Marco was in another window, waving, his parent's waving back, and one by one, all her friends and enemies and acquaintances were waving to their parents, smiling and laughing. And then the dog began to run and she chased it into the space museum- the one that was black, not red. She chased the chicken and ran into a room that was filled with rubber gloves-because they always need rubber gloves in hospitals- and her mother was on the medical bed, so she waved but her mother just stared through her and she turned around to see the cat winding around a girl's ankles, who looked just like her only normal- everything Ellie wasn't, and her own mother opened her arms to the other girl and hugged her furiously while they tiger paced the room and then began to eat Ellie whole, but even though she was screaming no one looked up.

"Ellie! Ellie, wake up! Ellie! Ellie, wake up, maledicalo! Wake up!"

She jerked awake suddenly, her eyes wide, sitting up quickly and glancing wildly around, only to see Marco crouched beside the couch, the sun rising behind him, giving him an unearthly red glow.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"You were screaming- in your sleep, I mean," he told her. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she muttered breathlessly. "Yeah. Just-it was a weird dream." She looked at him slightly and then smiled.

"I didn't mean to shout at you last night," she said. "You can't control- being what you are, I know that. And your parents- they'll be okay about it. They're really nice."

"Thanks El. And you didn't upset me, I know what you're going through," he said softly. "Want to go out for some coffee, breakfast, and then call Sean and Ash?"

She thought it over, and then nodded. "That would be good," she said. "And then we can go over to my- my moth- Elaine's house." Marco frowned sympathetically.

"I don't want your pity Marco," she said.

"I know."

"Good." There was an awkward silence.

"Let me just tell my parents where we're going and get dressed, all right. Do you- ah- want some other clothes?" She glanced down at the outfit she'd been wearing the night before.

"No, it's all right. Don't dirty another outfit for me," she told him. He nodded and handed her a brush.

"You may want to untangle your hair though," he told her before leaving. She went to run the brush through and groaned- it was all ready stuck in her matted hair.

Later, she had ate a filling breakfast of eggs and toast, sharing a sampler meal with Marco, because neither of them had much money on them.

"Do you want to tell Sean and Ash the situation, or should I?" Marco questioned her understandably.

"No, I should," Ellie, said. She got up and left the table, taking the cell phone with her. Her frowned after her, wishing there was something he could do.

It was taking her awhile, which bothered him. He could see her, pacing by the door. There were tears on her face, big wet ones, but she wasn't shaking and looked steady.

They were silent tears...

Or maybe, he thought to himself, they were silent screams...

"They're going to meet us here in about twenty," Ellie told him as she came back, sliding the phone back across the booth to him.

"Okay...we're here for you, El," he told her.

"I know. Thanks," she said, and smiled.

Sean and Ashley arrived promptly, and a pregnant silence followed them all during the long walk to her house. She was silent even as she led them in; though Ashley had a firm grip on her hand and Sean had wrapped an arm close around her shoulder. A shadowy figure stumbled across them. Ellie suppressed a groan but held her head high.

"Elaine, go back to drinking you Vodka. I don't want you around my friends. You've made it clear enough where you stand," she said levelly. Marco swallowed hardly and Ashley suppressed a sob.

"Ellie-Eleanor, my baby," her mother choked, her voice seeming surprisingly sober.

"That's not what you were saying last night," Ellie was quick to remind her. Sean squeezed her shoulder tighter.

"Ellie, please, can we talk about this- please? I didn't mean what I said- I was upset, your father had called, I was just so upset-"

"I don't care-Elaine," Ellie said, though her voice broke slightly.

"Ellie, I-I didn't mean what I said- you're my baby!"

"Who was he?" Ellie said suddenly, gripping Sean's arm with such a force he nearly winced. Her mother gaped at her.

"WHO WAS HE?" She shouted horribly. A silence, and then-

"Brent- Brent Hamilton," her mother was trembling as she spoke.

"Well, I'm glad you can remember!"

"Ellie, Ellie, you don't understand! I-I have a problem, Ellie, I'll admit that, but please, understand, I want us to work this out-"

"There is no working out that you drink so much that I hurt myself, that I cook, buy food, pay bills, manage all our checking accounts, cover-up for you maxing out our credit cards on liquor! That I spend every day dreading coming home because you aren't really a mother and I feel like an orphan, like there's no one for me take care of me, because I'm the one taking care of you! I don't care if you want me here forever- I'm leaving! Because all you need me around for is to kick around and clean up your bottles and I won't do it!" Ellie took a deep breath.

"Ellie, maybe it would be best- if you went somewhere else for a while. But only temporarily, I can change El-"

"Don't call me that. People who care about me call me that. And you're not one of them," she said, suddenly deathly calm.

"Ellie, please, you have to understand how hard it is for me! You are a difficult child and I live a difficult life, but that doesn't mean I can't change and take care of my baby girl! You are hard to live with. What with that suicide attempt and-"

"Elaine," Ellie snapped, but it was too late. Marco's eyes were boring into the back of her head, Ashley's hand had suddenly gone stone cold in hers, and Sean had stiffened next to her. "I-I'm going to get my stuff. And then I'm going to Children's Aid and filling out some papers- I'm not going to live here anymore." And with that final note, she led the others up to her room.

She gathered many things with their help- she was serious about moving out. It took them the better part of the day, and they worked mostly in silence, but eventually they had narrowed her items down to several outfits, personal items, her bedspread and pillow, a few bits of jewelry, and a few other things, including a picture of her and her dad. Some she packed in a bag for Marco's house, the others she packed in boxes for storage, saying that once she found a permanent residence, she'd get the rest.

"She can just throw out anything left of mine," Ellie said, surveying the bare room, which was torn apart and boxed. "Anything. I don't want it." The others nodded in silence. There was a lot of silence. Ellie took a deep breath.

"You going to do this? For real?" Marco asked her seriously.

She considered, slowly, before nodding. "Yeah, yeah I am. Let's go." She grabbed her backpack and swung it on, before picking up a box. Marco picked up the other one and they walked down the stairs. Her mother was once again passed out on the couch.

"Typical," Ellie muttered, and kept walking. The door slammed behind her, cutting her off from the life she once knew, and forcing her into another.

They were silent as they walked, no sounds besides those of their feet against the sidewalk. Ellie's eyes were downcast. Ashley and Sean were both staring at Ellie unabashedly, while Marco let himself fall behind, eyes darting nervously.

"El?" Sean hesitantly asked her. She knew what he was going to say.

"It was a long time ago, okay? That's why we transferred here ninth grade. It was a long time ago," she snapped.

"Oh Ellie," Sean whispered softly, pulling her against his chest fiercely. She sobbed brokenly into it, arms tight about him. He kissed away her tears, though more immediately flowed into their place. Ashley and Marco stood awkwardly to the side, eyes lowered.

"Is that what happened with the wave? Were you trying to hurt yourself, when we were at the beach?" Marco finally blurted out. He paled visibly; he hadn't meant to say anything.

Ellie said nothing from against Sean's chest, but her sobs intensified.

Marco was rather quiet the rest of the day, turning the new information over and over inside his head, examining it from every angle.

He realized that there was a lot he didn't know about Ellie. He realized that she must have resorted to cutting herself more than just the school year before and that things had always been bad for her and suddenly it felt as if everything that ailed him was so meaningless next to the depression of his friend.

But he had watched her lately, in Degrassi- seen how she smiled so widely when talking about her co-op job, how she grinned when with Sean but could still be her normal Ellie self, how she laughed when they were together, how Ashley made her snort cynically by still being the rather preppy girl she'd once been, but so much deeper. She seemed happy, he thought. Happy most of the time, and he couldn't help but think that getting away from her deconstructed family would help her.

The day was busy, after that. Marco's mother and father accompanied them to Children's Aid, along with Sean and Ash, meaning that the conference room was full of people worried about Ellie, especially when they called in her mother, a judge, a doctor, and a police officer. It took several phone calls to her mother, many long talks, a call to the school, other children's help homes, and a message left for her out-of-country father, before they were done.

It was arranged that Ellie would stay with the Del Rosi's until further notice. Her father was being sent a message telling him the situation, and asking him to come home soon, while her mother had to drive up to the hospital where the building was stationed and sign many papers. Sean had suggested she apply to Student Welfare to see if she could get money for an apartment or something of that sort, and the hospital said they would be glad to sponsor her.

Ellie had said quite forcefully that she did not want to see her mother at all, did not want her to have any custody, and- as the police, doctor, and judge all said- it was within her right to do just that.

So it was arranged that Elaine was not allowed within one hundred feet of Ellie, though her father's end was left open until they contacted him.

Marco couldn't help but be rather proud of his parents, who took everything in stride and scarcely complained about the missed day of work. Marco's mother even went as far as to say that she would do anything for any child in need but was glad that it was Ellie who would be staying with them.

The day was rather wasted after that as Ellie changed into her normal attire and set up residence in their office, which was being turned into a guest room. They moved in an old couch from the basement that she did up in her bedspread, before customizing the rest of the room with the things she'd moved out of her old house. The phone rang just as she was finishing and both her and Marco, who had been helping her, glanced at each other before racing out of the room and down the stairs to grab the phone.

"Hello, Del Rosi residence," Marco spoke into the phone.

"Hello," an unfamiliar female voice said from the other end. "My name is Anne Smith and I'm calling on behalf of Children's Aid. Is there an-" she paused "-Ellie Nash there?"

"Um, yes, there is. Let me get her for you," Marco said, before covering the receiver. "It's for you, from C.A." Ellie grasped at the phone.

"Hello?" she said hesitantly into the phone.

"Hi, is this Ellie?"

"Yes," she answered, as if thinking 'who else would it be?'

"Hi, I'm Anne Smith, I'm taking over your case."

"I thought my 'case' was settled," Ellie said.

"Well, what I do is keep the case subject updated on what's going on, randomly check up on people, that sort of thing. I wanted to tell you that we got a hold of your father."

"That's good," Ellie said neutrally, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"He's coming home, he says it will probably take about a week for him to fill out all the papers and get here. We discussed what's going on over the phone with him and he says that he would like to tell you that he and your mother have filed for divorce- they were waiting until he got back to tell you. That said he wants you to know that he will be buying an apartment once he gets back. He wants you to live with him. I need an official statement from you saying that you agree to this."

"I- definitely agree. What happens when he goes on his missions?" Ellie asked.

"Well, it says here that you were planning on signing up for student welfare, with the hospital sponsoring you. They have called and filled out the paperwork- all that's left is for you to sign. When your father is out of the country, you'll still have support money coming in."

"When can I sign?" she was quick to ask.

"As soon as you and your father can make it in," Anne told her. "I do have some rather unfortunate news," Anne began hesitantly.

"What is it?"

"You're mother has disappeared, taking all her possessions with her. Your house is now under government rule and being sold."

"Are they going to look for her?"

"They have been, but as far as we can tell, she just took off."

"Oh. Okay." Ellie hung up.

"What is it?" Marco asked her worriedly.

"Nothing big. My mother ran off, just like I knew she would. But my dad's coming back. He's going to rent an apartment and I'm going to live with him and it's going to be great."

"Oh El, that's wonderful! When's he coming?"

"Sometime in the next week," she said, smiling. He hugged her fiercely.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get mushy," she muttered, but she was hugging him back.

I guess I'm still Ellie Nash, she thought. It's Elaine who's a nobody now. Elaine Nobody, not a mother or a wife. Just a nobody.