And when the world is all my own, and I am to love it…who then will own me, and who will love me?

Last Thing On Your Mind:

School...I always hated it. I could never be the center of attention, I wasn't the tall, clear eyed blonde that everyone wanted, and I wasn't the funniest loudest girl. No, I was the exact opposite...I was never any of those things. I was the girl who no one really made an effort to talk to, I don't think they even knew I was there half the time. There were no friends to spend weekends with, no boys that would even so much as smile at me...there was nothing. And I hated it!

But here, it's small, people actually notice you even if you don't talk. They wave, they smile, they talk. They understand that in order to be someone you don't always have to talk. Or maybe it's just because I'm new...but either way, I don't not like it.

I still don't completely fit in, but at least these people don't point it out.

"So, uhh...Mii was it? How do you like it here so far? What with everyone being so hospitable and all, I'd say you're a dead fit in." a girl with red hair and pail green eyes commented.

"I think so too!" I smiled, truly overjoyed.

"So how long did it take to grow that hair anyway?" Shel asked as she flipped a bit over my shoulder.

"Honestly? I haven't had a haircut in a couple of years." I admitted sheepishly.

"It looks good like that, all you'd really need is a trim. But nothing dramatic, I wouldn't want them to take off too much if I had hair like that." the red head said, I think her name was Eli.

"Yeah,yeah, it looks great. So...Donny wants to know if you have a guy waiting for you back in your mormonville." Quin said, as the boy who was probably Donny punched him.

My eyes went wide and I could feel my face go tomato red,"...well, no. And I'm not mormon either." I muttered.

"Look, you embarssed her. What's it to you anyway, you like her or something? If Donny wanted to know then he could've asked." a girl named Meg said, elbowing Quin.

"It's okay, I just never get asked that is all." I peeped.

"...Oh, so you mean you've never-" the bell rang interrupting Donny.

"We'd better go, our next class is far." Eli said as she tugged me along.

"Bye Mii, see ya!" everyone said as we were going out the door.

"Bye." I waved.

"Lunch will get even more hectic as the days pass by." Meg said, smiling.

"So going back to what you said before...have you had any boyfriends?" Eli asked nonchalantly.

"Nope." I answered proudly.

"Well at least it doesn't bother you. Do you want to date?" Meg laughed.

"I've never really thought about it, but I always thought that if the time came...that I'd be more than happy to. If anything it was always the last thing on my mind, nothing I had to worry about yet. I mean I'm still young, and I will be for a while now." I smiled thinking about it.

"I agree, totally makes sense." they said together.

"Do you have boyfriends?" I asked.

"Well...yeah. I mean, I've had boyfriends." Meg said as she exchanged an odd look with Eli.

"But then again almost everyone here has dated each other, it's all the same to us." Eli said carelessly.

"What do you mean?" I said confused.

"Well, practicly everyone knows each other here...so it's like we've dated each other. Eli didn't mean that we all actually have dated each other. Here having a boyfriend or girlfriend is like carrying around an accessory...it's not like you need it, but you just want it because you think it makes you look cool. It's the old 'been there, done that'...it's a phase basically." Meg explained.

"Oh. So you guys don't date because you like each other? I thought that's how it worked, a person likes a person and that person likes them back...ya know?" What was the reason for dating then, if it wasn't for love?

"Well, yeah...some of us do. But it's just hard when nothing changes too often." Eli said defensively.

"I guess I kinda see your point. People do like change once in a while." I muttered.

A couple of seconds later we were up a pair of stairs and into math.

I groaned as the teacher handed me a math book along with a stack of assignments and a seat.

There's nothing I hate more than math, let alone math I could never understand...who was the pathetic person who decided to invent such levels of math anyway? And how could anyone find this a soothing, enjoyable activity? This was like my personal Hell! And to top it off, I didn't even sit by anyone I knew. And why did it seem like everyone around was glaring at me, had I done something wrong?

I don't like this!

*****

I smiled as I realized I had been able to survive the entire day, I felt like I deserved an award. I drove home feeling the proudest I'd felt yet. I felt like I could take on anything that was thrown at me.

Ha!

As if!

"Hey mom, I'm home!" I shouted as I went up the stairs to put away my things.

I changed into some warm, comfy bottoms along with some fluffly oversized socks and tied my hair up into a ponytail.

"Mom?" I said as I went down the stairs into the entertainment room.

"Oh, hey...sorry I was a little sidetracked. Your grandma's been talking to me about your room. She wanted to get you a new bed...well, actually, she wanted to remodel your room. So we went out and bought you a bed, did you see it? She felt bad that you were having to sleep on the coach down here." mom said a little panicky.

"Oh, I didn't even notice. Thanks! But you don't need to remodel my room granma...I like it how it is. In fact I love it that way. Was it your old room, mom?" I said a little chagrinned.

"It was your mother's room. I thought that maybe you might want to cover up all those paint splotches and get some carpet in there. I guess you're just like your mom after all." grandma smiled.

"Thanks for the bed!" I said as I hugged her.

"You're more than welcome, sweety." she said as she kissed my cheeks.

"Where's granpa?"

"He's taking a nap, he woke up pretty early today. Make sure to thank him when he wakes up, he picked out your bed. He said that you'd probably want something new and not too girly...so he picked you out a bed that turns into a couch. He'll be crushed if you don't like it." mom informed me.

"No worries, that's exactly what I wanted!" I smiled as I went back up the stairs to see my bed.

I never want this to end! Because it's what I always wanted a family that actually tells me they love me. And it's ironic how one of the darkest places is one of the most warm and inviting for me. It's funny because in the beginning I didn't move back here for this, I moved back here because I wanted something dismal and sad. I wanted something around me that was like me, I didn't want to keep feeling like I was the only thing like this. But now that I'm here...I don't want that anymore, I want this family.

More chapters to come! Thanks to you all who have read this and liked this story even a bit. When I get more time I'll draw up some of the characters and scenes, which I would love to e-mail if anyone wants to see. Again thank you so much!

-misao.