Well, I'm back. It's been a little bit since I wrote fanfiction, I'll admit. College and a job is hard work. But now I have vacation, AND I have 2 days off every week. Not bad.
So anyway, I got into The Casagrande family more than The Loud House. I don't know, I guess that TLH got kinda stale. But whatever; they're pretty much one in the same. But NOW The Casagrandes have their own fanfiction page, which I'd recommend visiting and improving upon.
For now, I'll be uploading the first chapter to BOTH the Loud House and Casagrandes pages. After that, since this is, well, a Casagrande story, it will be on The Casagrandes fanfiction page. So follow the story, follow me, FAVORITE me and the story, to keep track of it. This is gonna be a wild ride, friends. I hope you all enjoy.
Great Lakes City, Illinois is a typical American city. About 3 million people living in and around the area, plenty of tourist traps, a couple sports teams here and there… nothing to really set it apart from any other town. Not only that, but the city had its fair share of history associated with it. Did you know that during the War of 1812, there was a major battle on the lake? Fascinating stuff…
What the history book DOESN'T tell you, though, is the staggering amount of crime prevalent in the city. Over 5 TIMES the national average. Shootings, robberies, shootings, hit and runs, drive by shootings… and did I mention shootings? The point is, Great Lakes City is no safe spot to raise a child, for any sane minded person at least. Really makes you wonder why people willingly live there.
And THAT'S what makes this story even crazier. See, our story begins in the most unlikely spot in the city. A horrible, horrible moshpit of unregulated cruelty and evil intentions…
Daley Group Home, Great Lakes City…
"ELISA! GO AWAY! I HATE YOU!"
Jimmy groaned and buried his head in the thin pillow on his cot, trying as hard as he could to block out Kienans yells from the other room. That kid took Wii Sports WAY too seriously, and it showed. No wonder, though; it was literally the only fucking game in the entire house, and the younger kids fought over it CONSTANTLY. It really made Jimmy wonder why he was stuck in this group home/prison/orphanage half the time.
Jimmy Miller didn't look like your average 17 year old boy. He was around 6 feet tall, for one. He towered over every other kid in this place, and while that was cool and all, it got real annoying when he was constantly asked to reach the top shelf of the cupboards. Like, do you REALLY need to drag me out of my room at 2 AM to get peanut butter, Rick?
Another thing was his beard. Yep, 17 with a beard and moustache, if you could call them that. Really, the moustache was six hairs on his upper lip, but the beard wasn't too bad. The mop of yellow hair that went to his shoulders just accentuated it. And the fact that he looked like a stoner surrounded by 8 year olds just made it stand out even more.
And boy, did he feel like the only responsible one in this damn house. The kids were out of control, yelling and cussing half the time, and the adults didn't do jack-shit. It was a lawless wasteland out there in the halls, except there were less murderous bandits and more murderous kids.
"Pssst… you up Jim?"
"-sigh- Yeah, what's up?"
"I can't sleep. Tell me a story."
He couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. Garrett was his roommate, for some reason, and he HATED it. He didn't hate the kid, but he was, well, 7. It was like living with a small, hairless monkey in his room. Hell, they had nothing in common! Jimmy liked looking at girls and shit, and Garrett was just trying to learn how to read! Not really a good living arrangement…
"Seriously? I read you one last night. Get Harriet to do it."
"Yeah, like you WANT Ms. Bowie to come in here…"
"Good point…" he muttered. That bitch Harriet was everywhere in this building. When she wasn't yelling at the kids for not doing chores, she was lighting up her Marlboros with that stupid Zippo with the picture of hippo on it (for some reason).
"So… tell me a story!"
"Ok, ok," Jimmy said, getting out of bed and walking over to the other side of the room. "You ever hear the story about, uh… Rapunzel?"
"Maybe… I know a lot of stories man, you gotta change it up."
The older boy chuckled. Garrett was 7 but liked to talk like he was older. Maybe that's why he was always getting into trouble with the adults... some kids just didn't fit in in the system, he supposed… like him…
"So, Rapunzel was a girl who-"
"EW, a GIRL?! I don't wanna listen to that!"
"Well, that's rude…"
"Exactly! Don't you know girls got cooties? And they're lame!"
"All right, I get it," he chuckled. It was just natural instinct for boys to hate girls, he supposed. "How about I change it a bit? Uhhh… Have you ever heard the story of Jimmy?"
Garrett looked at the older boy funny. "Yeah, that's you, dumbo."
Perfect. He had his full attention now.
"Well, yeah! So I was a regular boy and all, but I lived in a BIG tower. There was no door in my room though, so I couldn't leave…"
His thoughts began to drift around then, and he began to stop thinking about the words he was saying to the kid. Really, if you thought about it, Jimmy WAS like Rapunzel. Never allowed to see the outside, like the noal kids…
He turned to the window, to the bustling street of Great Lakes City. He had only been sent here 2 weeks ago, but it just felt… RIGHT. All the excitement of the city that he never had in the other group homes and shelters.
Jimmy had been in the system for AGES now. Since he was 8, to be exact. His grandma raised him after his mom ditched him, and when she died there was no other place to head but the system (shudder). And there he was, cooped up in suburban houses where everyone knew the town like the back of their hand. Escape was impossible. Unless you were disguised…
And NOW? There was a big city outside his window, with new faces, new experiences, new EVERYTHING! Too bad he couldn't go out and enjoy it… Harriet would scream at him for 2 hours if he even brought up the idea. And it wasn't like the prison yard- sorry, "Recreation Area" of the group home was any better. It was surrounded by walls and covered with a tarp in the winter to keep snow out… they weren't even allowed to enjoy snow! SNOW!
No, no normal childhood for this kid…
"Jimmy!"
"HUH?!" He yelped, jumping up. He had been so distracted by his thoughts he didn't even realize Garrett wanted him.
"You, uh, stopped talking bud. Everything good?"
Jimmy started to talk, but sighed.
"No, Garrett. I'm not good right now."
"Oh," the kid said plainly. "Why?"
"-sigh- You wouldn't get it…"
"Come on man, I've seen some bad things before. This can't be too bad."
Jimmy suddenly got an idea. A crazy idea. An idea so insanely stupid that he would probably die trying to do it. But would it be worth it? YES.
"Garrett, I'm leaving."
"WHAT?!" the kid said loudly, causing Jimmy to cover his mouth.
"Shut it! You heard me! I can't take it here anymore!"
"Jimmy, you can't leave! Ms Bowie said that if we-"
"-Ever tried to escape she'd call the cops and send us to jail, I know that! But look! There's a massive playground RIGHT OUTSIDE! It's too good to pass up!"
"No, I can't let you go," Garrett said as he got out of bed and stood by the door. "You need to stay here."
"Oh, no I don't! And YOU'RE gonna help me!"
"WHAT?!"
"You like to say what a lot, don't you?"
"Well, yeah, I guess, but WHAT?! How am I supposed to help you?! I'm 7!"
"I know," Jimmy said, a smile crossing his face. "That's my plan…"
"Oh, god…" Garrett moaned as Jimmy whispered in his ear. This was gonna backfire…
A Few Moments Later…
"MS BOWIE! COME HERE!"
Mumbling came from a few rooms over. Feet hit the ground and marched over to the door. Locks from the outside began to unfasten, and in stepped a burly woman who you'd probably mistake for a man at first glance.
"What is it, kid?" She said to Garrett, clearly annoyed.
"I had a nightmare. A really bad one."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Probably about that beating the other kids gave you a few days ago. You really need to toughen up, kid…"
As Bowie rambled on about kids needing to learn to gav in the "concrete jungle," Jimmy (as quiet as humanly possible) got out of bed, sliding on his pair of dollar store sandals. Thank God it was late May, otherwise this plan would never work…
"-And you can't even fight back?! Kid, you're pathetic, you know that?"
"Yes, Bowie…"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" She said loudly, grabbing his shirt. "You're in for it now, kid!"
Garrett winked above her shoulder at Jimmy, who left a 5 dollar bill under his pillow. A fair trade for the punishment, in his eyes. As Bowie got her belt unfastened, Jimmy snuck through the open door, and before the old lady could react, he slammed the door and fastened a lock in lightning speed.
"What the hell- MILLER! YOU LITTLE SHIT, UNLOCK THIS DOOR OR ELSE YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Sorry, Bowie!" He said almost tauntingly. "I gotta go now! Prison life ain't right for me!"
"YOU LITTLE FUCKER! IM CALLING THE COPS! YOU'RE GETTING YOUR ASS HAULED OFF TO JAIL!"
Jimmy smirked, but not without a bit of worry in him. Cops, eh? He had to go fast then. No saying proper goodbyes now… So sad. He sauntered over to the stairs, turning to give a quick salute.
"See ya later, Ms B! Won't miss ya!"
"YOU WON'T SURVIVE 5 SECONDS OUT THERE, MILLER! YOU JUST WAIT!"
Outside…
"Wow…" Jimmy said to himself as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. Great Lakes City, he heard, was big, but nothing could compare to this. This place was MASSIVE. Buildings on every corner, the smell of seawater and hot dogs, the piles of trash in front of the long line of row houses… it was more than he could have ever hoped for or imagined.
A police siren sounded in the distance, and he dove behind a trash can to hide. Luckily it didn't come down his road, but you couldn't be too sure.
"Well… where next?"
To be honest, Jimmy didn't know what to do now. He definitely wanted to get out of the group home, but WHERE he wanted to go was a different story. Gulping, he started to walk down the street, his steps unsteady.
He walked for what seemed like forever, tripping over garbage, bike racks, and a homeless dude (he was NOT happy with that). He looked over at the GLART entrance, looking for a street name. Nothing.
A dog barked from somewhere, and Jimmy jumped back instinctively… only to get slammed into by a Toyota Camry.
"OH SHIT! WE KILLED A DUDE!"
"DON'T TALK, DRIVE MAN!"
The car sled off, leaving Jimmy sitting face first on the asphalt with pain flowing through his body. Luckily, the car wasn't going too fast, but the fact they didn't stop?
Yeah, crime was everywhere here…
He got to his feet and winced. His leg was in BAD shape… hard to stand on. He limped back to the sidewalk and sat, feeling light headed.
"Oh god, what have I gotten into?" He said to no one in particular. "I don't know what I'm doing! I'm crazy! Running off into a big city that I don't know… what an idiot!"
It was at that moment that bird shit hit the pavement right in front of Jimmy. He looked up, only to see… a parrot? Last he checked, those weren't native to the great lakes…
"Huh…" he mused, standing up. If this was a sign or something, he may as well take it. Slowly, but surely, he limped after the bird, making sure NOT to run into the road again.
The parrot led him through streets and sidewalks Jimmy could only imagine. He hobbled passed a hair salon, a hot dog cart, and more porn shops than you could probably ever dream about before he finally saw the bird land on a windowsill.
"-SQUAWK- Roberto, I'm home!"
Jimmy's eyes widened. Yeah, he knew birds could talk, but THAT? THAT wasn't normal. It HAD to be a sign. He HAD to get into that building. He limped his way over to the yellow bricked structure, passing a future-thingy burger joint.
He walked towards the building's door, only to find the glass door locked. He looked up at the sign: CASAGRANDE MERCADO. He wasn't Spanish, but he knew what this was; a grocery store. And from the looks of it, it was closed.
"Great… do I really gotta break in?" The boy asked out loud. He looked on the ground for a rock to throw before stopping. What was he doing? There HAD to be more than one way in. There HAD to be…
Luckily, there was. A set of stairs led up to a door on the left side of the building, which Jimmy climbed up cautiously. He tried in vain to open the door, but that thing was GLUED shut. There HAD to be a way in… it was a door, after all.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw an intercom system. Lots of names next to the buttons… Chang, Puga, Nakamura… CASAGRANDE.
Casagrande… that was the grocery stores name. It was the best chance he had. The pain was REALLY starting to come into his leg now. It was like SWORDS were stabbing it at all angles.
He jammed the button a few times, waiting impatiently on one leg for an answer. Luckily, someone picked up.
"Hello?"
Ok, now what?
He thought for a minute, and then said the first thing he could think of.
"Pizza!" (What? It was in a movie.)
There was a long silence… TOO long. Jimmy was starting to worry… or black out… when the man finally answered.
"Oh, sweet! My pizza! Hold on, I'll unlock the door… I live on the whole 5th floor!"
The WHOLE 5th floor? Jackpot! There was a click in the doors lock, and Jimmy pushed his way into the building. There was a flight of stairs, and he begrudgingly began a one legged climb.
On his way up, he tried to distract himself from the pain in his leg by imagining scenarios. Would these guys be nice? Would they understand that he saw a sign? Were they actually expecting pizza? Was-OW!
Pain flew through Jimmy's leg, and he stopped and sat down. He gritted his teeth as the pain slowly subsided, and he stood up gingerly, making sure he WASN'T gonna die in the next 4 seconds.
He put his foot down, only to jump back up. There was NO WAY he was walking on that… it was horrible. One stair at a time, he began to hop, using the railing as support.
Finally, after what felt like hours he reached the 5th floor. There was a single door, and he stopped there. Was he REALLY about to knock on some random strangers door? There was still time to-NOPE! TOO MUCH PAIN!
He quickly rapped on the door, and he was almost CERTAIN that he heard the bird again. There were footsteps, and the door swung open.
"Thank GOD my pizza's here! I ordered it an… hour… ago…"
In front of Jimmy stood a boy about his age, dark skin, wearing a green flannel and jeans. The boy looked in shock at the homely looking, straggly haired, one legged kid before saying anything.
"...Hey…"
Jimmy stood there, and as the boy looked at him wide eyes, he smiled and spoke.
"...Hey."
That was all that he remembered before he fell face forward, blacking out in front of Bobby Santiago.
Remember, if you want to keep following this story, GO TO THE CASAGRANDE PAGE ON THE WEBSITE. This is the ONLY chapter i'll upload here. And it should be easy to find on their site, too; its the only M rated story there so far. Until next time.