"Joseph!" a warm, honeyed voice called out from the front door. "Dinner's read- oh!" she stopped. "I didn't know we had guests!" she stepped outside. "Come in, come in! Dinners ready!"

Joey smiled. "Just a sec, Ma." He looked towards the group. "You guys don't need to be anywhere?" he asked.

"Nope." Frank said

"Me neither."

Susie shook her head.

"Awesome! Come on in, guys."

Frank looked around at the house. It was big, at least bigger than Clive's. He could see this family was one of the more...better off ones in the town. It was decently decorated, too. Potted plants, various family photos, various colors coating the walls. "Nice place," he said.

"Why thank you, dear," Joey's mother replied. "This way, this way!" the woman said. She led them to a decently sized room, fit with a large table and several chairs. They sat down, Frank across from Julie, Susie next to Julie, and Joey at the end of the table. "Jimmy!" The woman called out.

"I'm coming!" A young voice hollered out. Two seconds later and a kid who looked too small for his age came in. "Who are these people?"

"That's a good question." Joey's mom said. "Who are your friends, Joseph?"

"I'm Frank." Frank announced.

"Julianna. Nice to meet you." Julie smiled. "This is Susie." Susie gave a small wave

"Well it's nice to meet you all," Mrs. Culver said, making it a point to shake hands with all of them. "Right Jimmy?"

"I'm hungry." Jimmy said. Joey smirked. Mrs. Culver eyed him.

"Jimmy?"

"Hi." Jimmy looked at them before exiting into the kitchen.

Mrs. Culver sighed. "I'll be right back, let me grab you guys some food."

Andrews Residence,

11:30 P.M.

Frank creaked the front door open, quietly entering into the house. It was the dead of night, and the thought of being caught coming home after curfew filled him with dread. Sure, he was a bad kid, willing to do anything he could to release his anger, but being caught was an entirely different thing. Whenever his old foster parents caught him coming home late, they'd make sure he'd remember it for weeks. The thought of that happening again was too much to bear, yet he never thought about coming home early.

Fuck that, he thought. He was too young for that bullshit. He didn't like to conform. The door shut, and Frank turned to see Clive in the living room, sitting in the recliner with a beer in his hands. He looked asleep. Score, Frank thought.

He began walking up the steps. The step creaked, instantly alerting Clive. Frank looked at him, awaiting his punishment. Instead, Clive nodded, silently going back to sleep.

What? Frank thought. Where was it? The reprimanding? Clive didn't even look like he cared…Frank stopped. Why would he care? He thought. He had no reason to. They barely even knew each other. The last time they talked was last week, when Clive told him he'd have to start getting his own food. Frank thought this would be great, finally, nobody breathing down on his back! But it didn't feel great. Once again, none of his family cared about him…now he was angrier.

"You were supposed to come home after practice, Julianna." Her father told her, standing on the steps.

"I-I know, Father."

"Your Mother made dinner five hours ago."

"I know, Father. It's just, I met some new people an-"

"Are their parents okay with them coming home after curfew?"

"I don't know!"

"No parent should be! This won't happen again, Julianna."

Julie sighed. "Yes sir."

"There are left-overs in the refrigerator. Eat something before bed."

"Yes sir."

As Julie's father walked back upstairs, Julie slumped herself into the kitchen. She slid herself against the cabinet doors, sitting herself on the ground. She dropped her head, going deep into thought.

Susie walked inside her home, flopping her bookbag down onto the steps. Her mother looked over from the living room. "Susie, honey, you're home awfully late."

"I know! I'm sorry, I was with Julie." She replied, kicking off her sneakers.

"It's alright dear, as long as you're safe." Her mother replied. "The twins are already asleep."

Susie looked over to her dad, whom her mother was snuggled up against. "Dad too?"

Mrs. Smith laughed, "Since 9 o'clock. Long workday. Did you eat?"

"Yea, Joey's mom made up some food."

"Ooooh…a boy? Is this someone you're…interested in?" She asked.

"Mom!" Susie grinned. "I just met him!"

"Well, I'm glad you're making new friends."

"Thanks mom. It's late, I'm gonna head to bed."

"Okay sweetie, I love you!"

"I love you too, mom," She smiled. The blonde walked up the stairs and into her room, immediately flopping into bed. She was tired. It was a long day, a day that drained her, both physically and socially, but it was a good draining.

She was glad she was drained. Though sheepish and quiet, she yearned for contact. She often wished she could be more…sociable, just like Julie. She always liked that about her.

Her mind drifted as her eyes closed. She stared into abyss, slowly but surely getting closer to the peaceful visions of her dreams.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The alarm blared in her ears. Julie groaned, sat upright, and stared groggily into the darkness. The beeping cluttered her mind before she could even get her first thoughts out. She looked at the time before she shut it up. 5:30 A.M. Another morning, she thought. It was Tuesday, one step closer to the weekend…but then what? She knew what, another typical Ormond week.

She shook her head before navigating through the darkness. She flicked on her lights, immediately blinding her retinas. She stumbled into the bathroom and held herself on the counter. She looked up at herself. Typical Ormond girl. She almost laughed, but all that came out was a small exhale. She undid the bun in her hair, letting the silky, mocha river flow down her from her scalp. Still typical.

'Don't you wish you had more?' Frank's words reverberated in her head. The truth was, she did. The last 15 years of her life had been spent in Ormond, slaving away at school to become the model student, learning instruments she never had any interest in, throwing parties to fill in the void that she felt inside of her, but nothing worked. Finally, it clicked. 'You deserve better than a life in Ormond.' Frank was right.

Ormond was stale, restricting, a small town that kept you caged in. None of the jobs were promising, unless you were lucky, but luck was never on Julie's side…until now. Frank knew what life was like outside of Ormond. He knew that there was more to life than this. Frank could show her…

Julie knew she was more than just typical. She knew she was more than just an Ormond girl. Fuck this. She thought. She was going to get out of here.

Fairview Highschool

7:15 A.M.

Frank was among his peers as they flooded onto the property, not because he was excited for class, he just didn't want to be cooped up in the house. He didn't have anywhere to be for the next five minutes, so he took a slower approach. He inspected the looming learning center. What the hell is such a big school doing in such a small town? He thought.

As he walked up the steps, something stopped him.

"Frank!" he heard. He turned around, seeing his new friend on the bottom.

"Julie." He said.

"Let's hang a little, before class starts."

"Class?" Frank smirked.

"Five minutes." Julie said.

"Five minutes until we sit around for the next seven hours and get fed bullshit, yea."

"Four minutes now…" Julie smiled nervously.

"Why hang for four minutes when we can hang for…" Frank looked at his non-existent wrist-watch. "however long we feel?"

"I've gotta big test in Chem, I just wanted to-"

"Pffftssh," Frank stopped her. "We make our own rules."

Julie isn't here, Susie thought. Julie never missed class. Julie had perfect attendance from the beginning of her academic career up until today…and today was the test! What if something bad had happened to her? Susie thought. Surely she'd find out, right?

"Susan?" Mr. Davis suddenly appeared next to her. She was so lost in thought she didn't even notice the test being passed out. "Is everything alright?"

Susie cleared her throat. "Yea-yea. I'm okay."

"You look flushed," the kind old gentleman said. "Are you sure?"

Aw man, she thought. Now she was holding up the test. "I-I'm just wondering where Julie is."

Mr. Davis stopped. "It is strange…but I'm sure Julianna is alright. Are you sure you don't need anything?"

Susie simpered. "Yea, it's alright."

Mr. Davis returned the smile. "Alright then, here's your test."

Frank was no stranger to cutting class. Frank had the opposite of perfect attendance from the beginning of his academic career, including now. Right now, they were sitting in an alleyway in the town's marketplace.

Julie coughed. "I've never skipped before…"

"Figured." Frank chuckled.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I didn't mean anything bad by it…it's just that you're a…good girl."

Julie smirked. "And what, you're a bad boy?"

"Your words," Frank smirked back, "Not mine." He drew a cigarette from his jacket's pocket. "Guessing you don't smoke either, eh?"

"Wrong, bad boy." Julie giggled, grabbing the cigarette out of his hand. "I can be a bad girl too."

"Yea no shit, I don't think good girls take other people's shit." Frank's face hardened. Julie gave a mortified look. The smugness returned. "I'm just fuckin' with ya," he said, chuckling. "Take it. I got a whole pack."

Julie gave a sigh of relief. "lighter?"

"You got it." He said, lighting up the roll. He lit his own up, inhaling the smog. After a long pause, Frank spoke up. "So, I take it you wanted to do something other than…sit in an alleyway and light up cigs, right?"

"That's a…reasonable assumption, yes."

"That's what you get, being in a crap-sack like this." He said.

Julie suddenly stood up. "I wanna do more than be in this crap-sack."

Something clicked in Frank. He stood up too, looming over her. "Yea?"

"Yea!"

Frank smiled. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"Any sign of Morrison, anyone?" Coach Wilson called. Nobody had seen him. Joey sighed. Second day on the team and he's already out. Joey shook his head. "Anyone?" The coach called out again. Joey couldn't hear him, but he could easily make out the "Dammit" coming out from his lips.

"Joey!" Joey turned around, hearing a voice calling for him.

"Susie?" He said as he saw the small girl calling for him from behind the small chained fence.

"Where's Frank?"

"No idea." Joey said. "Ain't here, though. What's up?"

"I thought maybe he'dve seen Julie."

"She not here?" Joey asked.

"No…I was all alone during lunch."

Joey's brow furrowed. "Wait, wait. You sit by yourself during lunch?"

Susie tensed up. She shied her eyes away from him. "Normally I just hang with Julie and her friends…but I don't really…know them."

"Ayo, next time come and hit me up. I usually sit with Troy n' the boys, but I'll hang with you."

Susie turned her eyes back up to meet Joey's warm smile. "Really?"

"Yea, man! You're tight, man. You don't have'ta sit by yourself just cause Julie's out." He leaned on the gate. "Hey, why don't you hop over and watch us play?"

Susie smiled. "Sounds…fun!"

"Awesome! Make sure you draw up some of this, you won't wanna forget seeing us!" Joey boasted.

"So you just...walk everywhere?" Julie said, hiking down the cold, dead streets.

"Yea. Does your daddy take you everywhere?" Frank spat.

"Mommy, actually." Julie corrected. "Daddy's too caught up with work."

"Clive's caught up in his fuckin' drinking, so I gotta walk everywhere."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Julie said.

"Don't be. I don't even know the guy." Frank could sense the awkwardness beginning to linger. He cleared his throat. "Sorry about your dad."

Julie sighed. "I mean, it's alright. We have to get money from somewhere, right? It's how I throw those parties every weekend."

"Yea, but he should at least spend some time with you, right? You're his kid, man."

Julie's head went down. "I haven't been his little girl for a long time." She said flatly.

Frank stopped. "Well, fuck him," Frank said.

"What?"

"Fuck him."

"That's gross."

"No, no! What the fuck?" Frank's face scrunched. "I mean, forget him. If you aren't his kid no matter what then he can go fuck himself! You don't need him."

Julie processed his words. "Yeah, you're right. Fuck him."

"You got it!" Frank chuckled.

Julie wiped her brow. They'd been walking for awhile. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Where ever we want!" Frank replied, spinning around with his arms extended.

Julie's face hardened. "No, Seriously. Like, where are we going?"

"You Hungry?"

"I could use a snack."

"Sweet. Here," Frank said, stopping in front of a convenience store. "You like chips?"

"Wait, wait...your idea of a 'Better Life Than Ormond' is to...buy corner store chips?"

Frank smirked. "You'll see. Just go in there and-" Frank paused, thinking. "I don't know, talk to that dipshit at the counter."

"What? What are you-" Julie tried to figure out his plan, but the boy had already walked inside. She groaned, reluctant to follow, but abided anyway. She expected him to walk straight to the chips, but instead he slowly browsed around. When they exchanged a glance, Franks eyes subtly shifted towards the position of the employee. Julie furrowed her brow, but obliged.

"Hey, um," she tried to think. What'd he even want her to say? "I was wondering if you guys had any...um…"

Frank casually walked through the aisles, feigning interest in several items. He could hear a bit of what Julie was rambling about, something about Malboros. He laughed, and the twitch Julie gave made him sure she had heard it. Who is she kidding? He thought. I mean, she's wearing a Fairfield T-shirt.

He strolled into the snack aisle, making it a point to inspect a few items he didn't care for. In the corner of his eye, he found what he was looking for. An exasperated sigh left his lungs as he stood up straight.

"Hey Julie!" He said. "I changed my mind, let's get outta here!" He turned to leave the aisle, quickly snatching the bag and shoving it in his pocket

"What?" Julie said.

"I'm more in the mood for Tim Horton's," Frank shrugged as he exited.

"Wait! Frank, hang on!" She said, swiftly following after her.

Frank and Julie exited the building. "What was the point of that?"

Frank grabbed into his pocket and retrieved the bag of chips. "I didn't know what kind you liked, so I grabbed somethin' generic."

Julie recoiled her head in confusion. "Wait, Frank, did you fucking steal this?" Julie said. A man across the street turned his head towards them as he walked.

"No! I just got a really good bargain!" Frank said. "It cost the low-low price of zero dollars and zero cents!"

Julie furrowed her brow again."Frank, you can't do that!"

"Yea, I can, actually," Frank said, without a hint of remorse. "You think those guys needed the extra buck? They make all their money off of the hicks who smoke five packs a fuckin' day."

"I-..." Julie couldn't argue with that. That didn't mean she wouldn't try. "But what if you get caught? What if I get dragged down with you?"

"Well, the important thing is, I won't get caught. I've done this more than enough times!" Frank boasted. "And if they ever are onto us," Frank got closer, "I'll make sure you're off the radar."

Julie wanted to pretend that wasn't flattering, but she knew Frank could tell it was, just by the way her face softened. "Okay, Mr. Cool," Julie teased, "Thank you for the...corner store chips."

"You're welcome! Y'know, You should try it sometime," Frank followed up. "Lifes a lot less boring when you make your own rules." His words sunk into Julie once again. "You should also try, y'know, not screaming about shoplifting in front of the store I just shoplifted from."