Dawn 04

"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked, my lunch box held in one hand as I gestured to the free seat next to Tammi with my other.

The blonde's eyes narrowed as she glanced between me and Julia's - mostly empty - table just down the row. "Something wrong with that one?"

I grimaced. "I can't sit with Julia and her sycophants. They're…not as bad as Sophia and her posse were, but they're close."

"Thought I said to stay the hell away from me?"

"Actually, you said to stay away from Eric," I said, sighing and turning away. This had been a bad idea. I should just go up to the roof like I had originally planned. Even if her table was empty, this was stupid. She worked with the Empire - even if she didn't seem to like them. This was stupid and I couldn't help everyone and I -

"Hey, stop, Jesus Christ you're more skittish than one of Hookwolf's dogs," Tammi muttered. Her hand caught my elbow and dragged me back, nearly forcing me into the seat next to her. "You're an idiot. I told you to stay away."

"I'm only here for another few days. I didn't want to be totally alone for my last high school experience." I pulled out today's pita, groaning as the yogurt under it was exposed. "Do you want a strawberry yogurt? I hate these things, but Kayden forces me to eat them. Something about a balanced diet."

Tammi froze for a brief second as I held out the yogurt. "You call your mom by her name? Or is that your nanny or something?"

"Stepmom. Do you want it or not?"

She snatched it from my hand, glaring at the cup as if it had done something to offend her. "Thanks."

We ate in silence for a few minutes before I was finally able to work up the nerve to talk again. "For someone who says they're dangerous to be around, you really don't hang out 'your people' very much."

"Yeah," Tammi grunted. I thought that was all I was going to get until she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm apparently not supposed to warn people off. So ironically, you sitting here is probably going to get me back into their good graces."

I frowned. "That…wasn't what I wanted…"

"At least, it would if I didn't plan on picking another fight over something tomorrow." She was grinning now.

"You are not very good at being in a gang, are you? Do you have a death wish or something?"

Tammi snorted. "I get certain privileges." I glanced over at her, my eyes narrowed. She just shrugged. "My family was well connected. It's carried over. Plus whenever I have to actually do my job, I do it well. I have a particular skill set. So I get to be a little bitch and get away with it, when I'm not on the clock."

"Particular skills huh?" I scowled. "Maybe you were right and I should stay away from you."

"You should, I'm dangerous." There wasn't the hint of humor in her voice as she said that even as her eyes were locked on the tabletop and a frown was etched on her face. The muscles in her hand tensed and she splayed it flat on the tray for an instant, before sighing and shaking her head. "I don't do anything that would offend your delicate sensitivities Miss Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do. I'm more of a getaway driver. Thankfully, I'm good enough at that shit that I never had to worry about the bullshit initiation stuff. Fucking pyschos. Each. And. Every. One. Of. Them." She was nearly growling as she stabbed a small pudding with each word by the end.

"I hate how this school lets us just talk about this shit during lunch," I muttered, spearing the applesauce. "Winslow is so fucked up."

"Tell me about it."

"You know…" Did I want to hold a hand out? She had just admitted that she got them away from their crime scenes!

And yet…she seemed to genuinely despise it. Kayden had walked away…Kayden still wasn't perfect, but she had walked away. If she could…

"My stepmom, she uh, she used to be in a similar position. But she got out. If you want…If you were interested…If you wanted to…try a different job…I could give you her number." This was stupid. This was so stupid. This was so fucking stupid. She was a Nazi!

Kayden had been a Nazi once upon a time too.

When I looked to the left, Tammi was frozen beside me. "Look, I'm just saying. She might be able to help. You don't seem to like this very much."

"Why do you care, Taylor?" she whispered.

"Kayden's been good to me. She's still racist, but…she's trying to be better. She's my stepmom, but…I have to watch her all the same. For more reasons than one. You came up to me out the blue and tried to warn me about my stupid shit. You keep insulting the Empire, and you're a bit of a bitch to basically everyone, but not like, to anyone specific. I've been watching. You haven't done anything that would make me think you were a part of those bastards beyond just saying you work with them. If Kayden can walk away…then I'm sure she could help you do the same."

"If she cared enough…" Tammi said, her voice low and her fist clenched.

"Just, think about it, okay?" I passed her a slip of paper. "That's my number. If you change your mind let me know."

She snatched it from the table nearly the same second it left my grip. Then she looked up, glaring at me. "You need to learn to fight. You let Emma and Sophia and those other track bitches throw you around too much. You're quick, but you're scrawny. You need muscle or you need to learn how to throw down."

I groaned and wiped a hand down my face. "You're not the first to tell me that. I'm trying to start working out, but it's hard to schedule with the guys who offered to help me learn. They're, um, busy a lot."

Tammi nodded once and took out a notebook from her backpack tearing off a corner of one of the pages. She scribbled an address down and handed it to me. "Gym on Ninth and Tennison. One of the guys who goes there gives good tips. He's intimidating, but that's actually good. If you can go against him, you can go against anyone in this place. Ask for Forrest."

"Thanks."

Tammi nodded and stood up. "Taylor, seriously, I'm not as good a person as you think. I appreciate all this, but I'm not worth it."

I frowned as I twisted to look up at her. "If you don't like who you are or what you do, sometimes all you need is someone else to hold out a hand. You don't have to be someone you hate."

She snorted. "That sounds like therapy bullshit."

"That's because it is," I chuckled. "My therapist told me that."

She rolled her eyes and started to turn though not fast enough that I couldn't catch sight of the small smile on her face. It really did change her whole expression. She was pretty when she smiled.

"Tammi? Have we met before? I mean before you talked to me the other day."

Tammi froze again, her head shaking quickly, without even looking over her shoulder. "Definitely not, Taylor. I think I'd remember that. Why do you ask?"

"You just sound really familiar," I said. "I feel like we spoke before…but I can't remember where."

"Must have just passed each other buying food or something."

"Yeah, maybe." I frowned. "Except, I almost never came into the cafeteria before…"

"Then someone you met had a voice similar to mine. I gotta go. Check out the gym. I'll think about calling your stepmom. And Taylor, seriously, stay away from me. I'm not…I'm not good."

"The fact that you can say that and still sound sad about it, means you can still change," I responded. I turned back to the last remnants of my food. "Talk to you later, Tammi."

When I glanced over my shoulder again, she was already leaving the cafeteria, her hair streaming behind her as she nearly ran outside. Maybe I could reach her. Kayden had turned away after all. And Tammi…was nice.

I slammed my head onto the table and groaned. I needed to set up another spar with Aegis and Kid Win. If only so that I could get better friends and stop feeling bad for Empire Eighty Eight members…

Maybe I should just start shouting that I was gay. That should make the ambiguously friendly homophobic racists stay away from me all on their own, right? Then I wouldn't have to worry about sympathizing with the enemy!

Groaning again, I barely moved when the bell rang. Why were all of my ideas so horrible!?

I threw my backpack to the side as I closed the door. Kayden was already looking around the corner of the kitchen wall at me. I just rolled my eyes at her as I walked past to the fridge. "Do you ever work?"

"I was actually working now. An Interior Designer can do her plans just as well on a computer as in the client's apartment. It's actually better to do it digitally first; I can show people ideas and lay everything out. Saves time and money and everyone's happier with the results."

I grabbed a sandwich and shrugged. "Uh huh."

"Tell you what, I'll take you with me on my next walkthrough. Then you can see how the pre-render comes together and how everyone's all smiles."

I smirked and leaned against the counter. "Didn't the last guy call here yelling and screaming?"

"Don't you start throwing examples out at me, Child," she said, shaking her finger in my direction obviously fighting against the grin behind her expression - and losing. "Just because Sailor Bob didn't like the Sailor Theme he paid for and specifically requested - over my objections - does not mean I don't have a stellar track record."

"Sailor Bob? Really?"

"If you wanted your whole house apartment to look like the inside of a naval warship, I'd call you Sailor Bob too."

"Wow. That's dedication."

"That's not listening to your designer who is paid to help you avoid foolish decisions that you immediately come to regret." She paused and tapped at her chin. "Now I'm not saying a sailor theme couldn't work, but you have to have a certain personality. Sailor Bob did not." We both laughed and she waved away the memory. "So how was school? I should get the last things we need for the home-schooling thing next week so you won't have to go back anymore."

"Surprisingly decent for once," I said. "Most people have just ignored me since Sophia was taken out of class. Emma's still gone which…sucks.

Kayden frowned. "Why? She was one of the girls who forced this situation, Taylor."

I shrugged, studying the floor. "Yeah, but Sophia was always pushing her. Now that Sophia's gone, maybe Emma will…go back to how she was?"

"Taylor…"

"Anyway, Madison's back. She's trying to get involved with Stephanie's group now. Stephanie was always the neutral ground, I guess Madison is trying to stay under the radar now instead of being on the top of the pile. Every time I even look at her she shies away too. I think she's scared of me."

"Good," Kayden muttered. Lifting her head, she smiled and said louder, "Teachers are okay?"

"Same as always. Gladly's scared to call on me. I don't know why. There are some teachers that haven't been back in a few days though. It's…unusual for there to be that many subs. Do you think I should be worried?"

Kayden grunted and stood up. She moved to me and laid both hands on my shoulders smiling gently at me. "Taylor, sweetie, I love you, but you can be really dense when you're not running around trying to fight everything that looks at you wrong. I finally got a lawyer. Between him and the PRT, the school is being run over hot coals. I'm amazed that Gladly still has his job. They probably think he's too stupid to be malicious. That was certainly the impression I got in the past two conferences we had with the man."

I blinked, suddenly finding it hard to breathe as I stared up at her. "Y-you got a lawyer? I thought…"

"It was only a matter of time, sweetie. It took a lot longer then I had thought it would, but yes, I have a lawyer."

I didn't even know when I started hugging her. One second I had been leaning on the counter, the next I was crushing her in my arms. I was too tall; her head was pushed against my collar bone.

"It's still going to take awhile, Taylor," Kayden murmured into my shoulder even as she patted my back.

"That's okay," I responded, my voice thick.

"Sweetheart, I need to breathe."

Letting go, I stepped back, wiping a hand down my face to get rid of the wet trails on my cheeks even as I couldn't stop the smile on my face. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry." Kayden stepped forward and kissed my forehead. "Anything you need, whenever you need it, I'll get it done. Just tell me. I'll fight anyone, anywhere if I have to in order to protect you. I mean that."

"I know." My voice was barely a whisper. She kissed my forehead again and moved to the side reaching for the pantry.

"I'd even fight Eidolon you know."

I groaned, the blush spreading up my face even as I tried to beat it back down. Stupid body. "You'd lose that fight so bad."

"Eh, I'd make him think twice about hurting my family first."

"Kayden, stop."

"Mhmm." She pulled out a box and held it up. "What do you think of Hamburger Helper? If we start now, we can have it ready just in time for when your dad gets home."

"Sure. Hamburger Helper it is."

Kayden hummed a low tune as she got the meat from the fridge and moved to the cutting board. Yeah. Kayden could change. Kayden was changing. I just had to get Tammi to talk to her, and then I could help Tammi too.

If only I could figure out just why that girl was so familiar.

"Taylor?"

"Hmm?"

"I was serious you know. About helping with anything you need. Just because I can't have kids of my own, doesn't mean that you're not my daughter."