Chapter Three

"I take it she still isn't happy about this?"

Standing a few feet away from the car, Aubrey and Cassidy eyed the young female who had yet to leave the vehicle.

"It's difficult for her." Cassidy told her. "Moving to a new place always is. As you saw, she is not very family orientated."

"Did she have poor examples from other homes?"

"Well, she's never gotten hurt or anything. We keep tabs on the families who take our kids in to prevent that. However, she has had some homes that were either really tough on her because of her stubbornness and homes that just gave up on her too quick because of that as well, so she was always sent back."

"It's terrible that people would give up and send kids back again because they are hard to reach." Aubrey said a little sadly. "Just because someone has issues getting through to another doesn't mean you should give up on them."

"I agree." Cassidy said back. "It seems that people these days want to foster or adopt the perfect child, in turn leaving the troubled ones feeling unworthy or without families."

"And that's so wrong. Just because a child isn't perfect to them doesn't mean they aren't perfect at all. Every child is wonderful in their own way. So what if they are a little rough around the edges? That doesn't mean they are bad and don't deserve to be loved. Love is what they need more than anything."

"It is. Though trying to convince her of that is not an easy task."

"Well, hopefully I can…even if it's just a little."

Cassidy smiled at this.

"To be honest Ms. Posen, I think you will be able to. I have interviewed many good families in the past, but no one had the mindset that you do in regards to her. And no one has ever been able to tame that stubbornness with sweet words like you did the day we met. She always has something sarcastic to say, but your little speech left her speechless. She was quiet even after you left. You got to her. You really think you'll want to keep her?"

"I sure would like to. I'm not the type of person who would send a child back just because they are stubborn or hard to get through to."

"That's comforting…really." Cassidy said warmly, and it was to the social worker. Harlyn deserved so much love and really wanted to find the right family for her that would help her realize that fact. "Do you still plan on keeping that a secret?"

"For now, yes. You're right, it might scare her a little if we tell her too soon. I want her to get comfortable first."

"I won't say a word, and I really do hope this works out. Anyways, ready to see her?"

"Yes!" Aubrey replied excitedly, and with that, they both headed down to meet her.

Back in the car, Harlyn was still lost in her own thoughts, Cassidy's words unable to leave her mind.

"Out of every single one, what family still wanted you when the interview was over?"

Reaching behind the seat, she grabbed her black backpack and held it tightly to her chest, sinking down a little.

"It doesn't make any sense. I'm always mean during interviews. So why did she still want me anyways when the other ones didn't? That damn woman even tricked me into agreeing to come here, but why? I don't understand…"

This was the very first time someone had taken her despite her rudeness during the interview process, and she wasn't entirely sure how to feel.

-Tap tap tap-

Snapping from her thoughts, she looked up and found Cassidy standing by the window. She nodded her head to the woman beside her and beckoned her to come out. Knowing she had no choice, the girl rolled her eyes and unhappily opened the door.

"There she is. Harlyn, say hello."

Slipping on her backpack, she looked up at the familiar face, the woman sporting a soft and happy smile.

"Hey, Harlyn." She greeted.

Now, the nice thing to do would have been to reply back, but Harlyn was not feeling nice. So instead, she simply crossed her arms over her chest and looked away.

"Hmph."

If only she had been paying attention.

"It's really nice to see you again."

While looking away, she failed to realize that Aubrey and walked in closer, and soon, the young girl found herself in an unexpected warm hug.

"What the…"

She had done her best to push back the warm feelings she got the day she first met Aubrey, but the second she felt that hug, those feelings all came flooding back, and that, for the stubborn Harlyn, was not a good thing.

"Woah, woah, woah…get off!"

Pushing Aubrey away, she took a step back.

"What is your malfunction? What was that all about?"

"What, the hug? I was just happy to see you again."

"Well don't hug me. I hate them!"

"If you hate them so much, then why are you blushing?

Harlyn shot the death glare of her life towards Cassidy when she spoke those words.

"You…are going to pay for that…"

"If you say so dear." She said back with a smirk. "All right then, I see you're good here. I'd stay a little while longer, but it's already past four so I'll let you go on and get settled in."

"I hate you…"

"Aww, I love you, too, Harlyn. You be good now and have fun, and if either of you need anything, don't hesitate to give me a call."

"Have a safe trip back!" Aubrey called.

"Thank you! Have fun!"

And with that, she hopped in the car and drove away.

After silently cursing this new change, she followed her new guardian into the house. Now, she had to admit, the outside was pretty, the house all white with a little yard in the front and back. However, on the inside…

"Wow…" she thought to herself, temporarily forgetting her anger. The inside was even better, a rose like smell surrounding her.

"This is the living room." Aubrey told her, slightly amused at the girl's awe. "And here is the kitchen, and over here…"

Aubrey brought her through the entire household, showing her the dining room, where the closets were, the bathrooms, and a room that held the most beautiful all black grand piano she had ever seen. Along with the piano, she found a trophy sitting on a shelf along with some pictures of a group of girls, Aubrey among them.

"They are all very good friends of mine," Aubrey told her when she found the girl looking at them. "Two of them you'll actually get a chance to meet. See, we were an all-female acapella group back in our college years. This trophy was our very first win."

Harlyn looked up, cocking an eyebrow as she did.

"Acapella…as in singing without music?"

"Yes!" Aubrey replied brightly.

She looked back at the trophy.

"And you guys entered competitions?"

"Mhm."

"Acapella competitions. That says weird all over it. That's really a thing?"

Aubrey couldn't help but giggle a little, recognizing that line from a time long ago.

"You sound just like a friend of mine did when she first heard about it. Yes it's a thing, and it is a lot of fun, too. Those days were some of the best for me. Now, I teach music at a nearby college. Well, I usually do. This round I took the year off."

"Why?"

"Well, for you."

Harlyn felt heat rise to her cheeks again when she heard this.

"Wait, what?"

"For you. I figured that taking some time off would be good to take care of you, spend time with you, and really get to know you."

"But I probably won't even be here in a year."

"But you could be. Or rather, I'd really like you to be, so to be safe, I took the year."

"Seriously?"

Aubrey, a complete stranger, decided to take a year off from her job to spend time with her, the kid who had been nothing but rude to her from the start?

"That doesn't make any sense either. Why would she…"

Starting to feel slightly uncomfortable due to the returning warmth in her heart, she turned away, crossing her arms over her chest.

"W-Well, stop hoping. I already told you that you'd be sick of me within three months. I still think that you will."

"Is that so? I guess we will just have to see. Come along then."

Continuing on, she followed the woman up a set of stairs, the two stopping in the hallway between two doors.

"Over here is my room, and right across from me…"

She opened the door right in front of them.

"Welcome to your new room my dear."

Harlyn's eyes widened a little when she stepped inside.

"I re did it a little when I found out you were staying. Cassidy said your favorite color was blue, right?"

Harlyn just nodded. Blue was definitely her favorite. It also happened to be the theme of her room. Everything from the curtains to her blankets to the soft rug beneath her feet was decorated that beautiful hue.

"You like?"

"It's…ok." Harlyn answered, her voice betraying her slightly.

"Well, I am glad that you find it ok." Aubrey said back with an amused smirk. "Anyways, I'll go ahead and let you get settled in. Do you need anything or want me to help you?"

"No…"

"Well, if you do, let me know. And Harlyn?"

The girl looked up at the other.

"I know I have said I before, but I really just want you to know how happy I am that you're here. And if there is anything, and I mean anything you need, please let me know."

And with one final wink, she let the girl be.

The moment she was alone, Harlyn walked over to the bed and sat on it, plopping the bag beside her.

"It's so soft." She thought, rubbing her hand over the covers gently. Looking around, she took this moment to inspect the rest of her room a little more. Along with her own bed, she had a desk, a nightstand with a lamp, a dresser, and a bookcase full of books. She even had her very own computer.

"This is really nice…and she is really nice to me, too…"

She let her mind wander back to the hugging incident that happened outside.

"I hate hugging. It's so weird. I don't even like it when people touch me."

Harlyn was not someone you touched, She was not fond of any form of affection and generally got mad if anyone attempted to do so.

"But then…if I hated it…"

She placed her hand over her heart.

"Why did it feel so warm?"

Letting out a sigh, she stood up from the bed and shrugged off the thought.

"Whatever…snap out of is Harlyn."

Walking over to the nearby window, she looked outside to find that she had a really good view of the neighborhood she was in. She found that many of the houses were similar to the ones she was staying in, the colors and sizes all varying.

"I wonder if the people in this neighborhood are as crazy as this one…"

After looking out a little longer, she let out a yawn and turned back around. She had every intention of lying down, but when she turned, she saw something she wasn't quite expecting.

"Meow…"

…

"What…the hell…are you…"

Well…she knew it was a cat, she was just not thrilled to see it.

"I already have to deal with a crazy lady. I don't want to deal with some animal, too."

Walking up, she looked at the collar around its neck, the all grey cat sporting a name tag with it.

"Bella…" she read, rolling her eyes after. "Did she really name you after her college acapella thingy or whatever? Talk about lack of creativity. Go on. Get out."

The cat didn't move.

"I said shoo!" she said again, waving her hands at it. "Get out of here!"

But she still was not going. Instead, she merely meowed again and curled up at the end of the bed, causing the ten year old to roll her eyes again.

"Whatever…"

Flopping down now, she sighed and looked up at the clock. It was nearing four thirty. Did she want to go back downstairs yet? Part of her wanted to explore a little more, but another part of her wasn't quite ready yet. Everything was still new to her.

"I don't know…maybe I'll just stay here for a bit…"

Some more alone time sounded nice, and the bed was so comfortable that she kind of didn't want to move.

"And anyways, it's not like I want to see her face right now…"

Well, ok, maybe a small part of her did, but she wasn't going to give into it. Instead, she just rolled over and allowed herself to get lost in her thoughts. What she wasn't planning on was falling asleep as she failed to realize just how tired she was. After a night of nothing but worries and a day full of new changes, no one could blame her for passing out. Even as she dozed off, her mind was still full of worries, but if she spent time long enough with Aubrey, would she have to live with them anymore?

"Meow…"

Harlyn shot awake with a gasp, finding herself now in a slightly darkened bedroom. Confused at first, she looked at the clock again, the time now reading seven thirty.

"I fell asleep…"

After rubbing her eyes and shaking off some of the grogginess, she found Bella lying right in front of her face.

"Seriously…"

Not what she wanted to see.

"Stupid cat."

Flopping onto her back, she let out a long stretch.

"I must have been more tired than I thought...ugh…I'm still tired. Maybe I'll go back to sleep…"

Rolling onto her side, she went to stretch again, but something else caught her eyes…something she was most definitely not expecting.

Well, more like someone.

"Hello."

…

"Gah!"

Shooting up, she jet off the bed and flicked the nearby lamp on.

"What in the…"

There, standing in her room, was a small girl. She had medium lengthed red hair and light blue eyes. She was also sporting a pink ballerina outfit.

"How…you…"

She wasn't sure how to handle this.

"You…gremlin…child…thing. What are you doing in here?"

"I'm not a gremlin child." She said with a cute little giggle. "I'm a girl. My name is Riley and I am six years old."

"Uh…ok…that's great...but what are you doing in here?"

"I wanted to say hi." She said simply as if it were an obvious answer, the girl now walking over to the bed to pet the cat. "But you were sleeping, so I waited. Hi Bella."

She scratched the purring cat behind the ears.

"Bella was sleeping with you."

"I noticed."

"She likes you."

"She does not. She's just a stupid cat."

"Nu uh, she's smart."

"No she isn't. She is stupid like every other cat in the world. All she does is sleep, eat, and lick her butt all day."

"Ewww…nu uh, Bella is super smart. Aubrey even said so!"

"Well, she lied. She's not smart."

"Is, too!"

"Is not…"

"Is, too!"

"Is not!"

She couldn't believe she was arguing with a six year old over the intelligence of a cat.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Riley!"

Looking up, the ten year old found another girl standing in her door way. This one was older, looking to be about her age. She had long dark brown hair with dark brown eyes to match, and her clothing style clearly stated she was a bit of a tomboy.

"Riley, you shouldn't be up here."

"But I wanted to see her…"

"I know, but you should have waited until she came downstairs."

Looking up from the little girl, the brunette shot Harlyn an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about that. We were on our way home from dance class and she just kept begging to come and meet you, so the two of us and our parents came by to visit real quick."

"…Ok…"

"Your name is Harlyn, right?"

"Uh…yeah?"

"Cool, I'm Piper. Piper Mitchell. And this is my little sister, Riley."

"Uh huh…"

"Piper? Riley?"

An unfamiliar voice called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Piper called back.

"You have to come, too!" Riley told Harlyn.

"Wait, what? No, I'm good."

"No, you have to!"

"Riley, if she doesn't want to come down right now she doesn't ha-"

"No, she really, really has to! I want her to meet our mommies!"

"I really don't want to though. I-"

"Please, please, please?" The little girl begged, tugging gently on Harlyn's wrist. This, in turned, caused the girl to pull away.

"But-"

"Pleaaaaase?"

"Ok! Ok, ok, ok, jeeze. I'll go."

"Yay!" She then tore from the room, yelling the words, "she's coming, she's coming" as she ran downstairs.

"I am so, so sorry." Piper said again. "She tends to be a little hyper sometimes."

"A little? How do you even live with that?"

"Very strategically."

Harlyn actually snickered at this, even smiling a little at the comment. In all honestly, the whole event had been a little funny, but she quickly hid that amusement, wiping off her smile as she walked past the other.

"Well, I couldn't handle it. Anyways, let me go and get this done and over with."

Exiting the room, she headed downstairs, Piper right behind her. When she made it to the living room, she found two unfamiliar faces sitting on the couch with Aubrey. One had red hair like Riley, and the other had brown hair.

"Hey you!" Aubrey said with a smile. "You're up!"

Yeah…no thanks to your fur ball sleeping near my face…or to that gremlin child creeping in my room."

"I'm not a gremlin! I'm a girl!"

"Riley…"

The red headed woman pulled the little girl into her lap, a slight hint of sternness in her voice.

"Riley Marie…you know better than to go into someone's room without permission…"

"But mommy, I really wanted to see her…"

"I'm sorry about that." The elder brunette said. "Sometimes curiosity gets the best of her."

"Clearly."

"Harlyn, these two are very good friends of mine, Beca and Chloe Mitchell. They live right down the street."

"Hey, Harlyn." Chloe said with a smile. "It's nice to finally meet you. You are all Aubrey has been talking about these last two weeks."

A small blush crept onto her cheeks. Aubrey spoke about her that much?

"Harlyn…I really like that name. " Beca told her. "It's different."

"Yeah…"

"How do you like it here so far?"

"Um…I don't know. I haven't really done much. I'm just tired…long day."

"That's totally understandable." Chloe said back. "I'd be tired, too. Well, we were just about to leave anyways, so you go on and get the rest you need."

"Aww, but mommy…"

"I know…" Chloe said softly, kissing Riley on the cheek before standing up. "But we have to get you home little duckling."

"We'll come back again, don't worry." Beca added, ruffling her hair. She then looked up at Harlyn with a smile. "And feel free to swing by whenever you want. You always welcome there."

"Sure…"

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then." Piper told her. "But uh, yeah, like my mom said, if you ever wanna hang out, swing by. Later!"

"Bye."

Once they left, Harlyn shot a look over to Aubrey that very clearly said, "really?" This only caused her to giggle in return, the woman walking over and wrapping her arm around her.

"I'm sorry about that. I was going to give you time to settle in a bit before meeting people, but they really wanted to meet you, especially the kids. Piper is actually just a few months older than you. She turned eleven back in May. The two of you will be going to school together this fall."

School. She had actually almost forgotten about that.

"Joy." Harlyn replied, removing Aubrey's hand from her shoulder. "I can't wait. Anyways, I am going back upstairs."

"Oh, you don't want to eat? Dinner is almost ready."

"No, I'm good. Not hungry."

"You sure?"

"Positive. I just want to sleep."

"All right, do you need anything?"

"No."

"Ok then…well, if you're going to bed…"

Before Harlyn could react, the woman reached over and hugged the girl gently.

"Sweet dreams."

"W-what the…hey! Get off!"

She struggled to get out and pushed herself free.

"What part of no touching don't you get?"

"Well, it's kind of hard not to when all I wanna do is hug you to pieces."

"Wh-what? There is nothing about me that should say anything to make you want to hug me to pieces!"

"Oh, you' be surprised. I can see it all over you."

Harlyn's face fell. What the hell was going on?

"Do you really feel the need to do that?"

"Yep."

"And you're not going to stop…are you…"

"Nope."

"Well, I'll still fight it."

"That's ok."

Yeah, no. Harlyn wasn't winning this one. Clearly the ten year old wasn't the only one who could be stubborn.

"Whatever. You're impossible. I'm going to bed."

"All right dear. Good night and sleep tight."

Harlyn said nothing back, the girl simply turning and heading back upstairs. Once there, she shut the door, once she made sure the cat was out of course, and grabbed some pajamas from her bag, quickly changing into them and hitting the bed.

"What is her problem…" she muttered, clicking off the nearby light and plopping down. "Why is she being so stubborn about the whole hugging thing?"

That was a funny question to ask when she was being stubborn about it, too.

"This doesn't make any sense at all. I told her I hated hugs, so why does she want to keep giving them anyways?"

In the past, people usually just shrugged away and left her alone when they learned she disliked affection, but Aubrey just kept going.

"And don't forget…"

She nuzzled up closer to her pillow.

"She took a year off of work for me, too. She wants to spend time and get to know me better, but I don't understand why she would want to do that either. Nothing makes sense here."

She let out a sigh, her brain hurting from thinking about it all.

"Whatever. Give it a few months. She'll probably get over the whole hugging thing and get tired of me…yeah…"

That would definitely happen. She knew it would. All of her other placements got tired of her, so she would, too.

Right?

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she rolled over and closed her eyes, and within second, a very tired and confused Harlyn fell asleep.