Disclaimer: I Do Not Gain Any Profit From The Grand Theft Auto Franchise, Or Any Of The Songs Mentioned In The Story…

Enjoy!

~.~.~.~.~.~

Chapter Two

~Their Own Little Paradise~

"We'll find other pieces to the puzzles
Slipping out under the locks
I can show you how many moves to check mate right now
We can take apart this life we're building
And pack it up inside a box
All that really matters is we're doing it right now
Right now"-'Au Revoir- OneRepublic'

~.~.~.~.~.~

At the age of eleven you see the world through the eyes of a child. Yet as you get older you start to recognize that the world that you once thought you knew was a dark, depressing place rather than what movies and children's shows glossed over with fictional, happy beings. And although some parents shield their children from the harsh truth; Angel Philips never got to experience that. She knew the world's dark and cold truth before any other children, even with the shielding from adults. In fact she played a big part in the world's bullshit. She was the epitome of a child who grew up way too soon. And although she wasn't alone; she surely felt like she was.

Though, she had someone she could relate to. Someone being her best-friend whom she had known for the three years she had been living with her father. Truthfully, she had disliked his well-being in the beginning. But, just like her father's friendship with Michael, she had to get used to the fact that she had someone she could understand and vice versa. Michael, who'd been a foster-parent to him at the time, was the one who'd actually gotten her to talk to him. And although it took her a couple of months to get used to the fact that she finally had someone close to her age that she could talk to, they'd both gotten used to each other.

And now, they were friends. He, being Dash De Santa or Townley, was the person she learned to live with. Yet in her world, a friendship is an unknown subject. She wasn't used to having someone being there when she wanted them to be other than her father. And usually that was because he had to be there for her.

But now, she had someone she could rely on and she didn't even need to ask. She wasn't used to shit like that; at first it took some time getting used to- having someone know your emotions without even asking you. She'd never experienced what it felt like to have a friend. Like, ever. She was a loner who didn't have time to interact with materialistic brats that didn't know the meaning of life. She was always the odd one out and though it was nice, it was sometimes unnerving to be the only person to never talk to anyone, to always stare into a book, and always wearing what kids would call "un-fashionable". Or, at least that's what the spoiled brats thought.

But, now she was older. She was fourteen, an age where you're supposed to get out into the real world and interact with your environment. She didn't agree with that. She loved the fact that she could stare right into her sketch book and draw what she wanted without the disruption of the world around her. She loved the fact that she could feel comfortable in a pair of tan cargo shorts, a tank-top, and her old Converse high-tops rather than spending her father's money on designer jeans, cashmere sweaters, and bullshit shoes. She liked the fact that instead of being with a huge group of people she could be alone or with her best-friend and still get the excitement others did when they were with a large group of people. She also liked the fact that she didn't need anyone to sugarcoat the worlds horrors when she already knew what they were like because she had experienced it; yet other children didn't get to. She loved being herself rather than pretending to be what she wasn't. She was comfortable with it just being the people she began to know as her family- her family being Trevor, Ron, Wade, Michael, Dash, and so-on-and-so-forth.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Dash, can you see the star?" She pointed towards the night sky as she lied on her back in the grass. The boy's cobalt blue eyes glimmered with amusement as he gazed to which she was pointing. The midnight blue had made the bright white of the stars stand out to them, yet he'd had his eyes on one that was bigger than the others.

"Well I'd be able to if the clouds got out of the fucking way!" He shouted, as one of the purple outlined clouds floated in the path of the star she was once pointing at. She glared at him and sat up, pulling her hood over her head and staring down the hill to the brightly lit city. Twinkki, who'd once been laying in the spot that separated the two teens, moved as well. He nuzzled the girl's hand, in which she moved and allowed the dog to lie upon her lap.

"I swear I don't get you at times." She spoke quietly, her gaze meeting his own. The male leaned up onto his arms and gave a boy-ish grin, "What's there not to get- we've known each other for three years! You should've figured me out by now, ya know?" She looked upwards again, her gaze now focused back onto the stars.

"Regardless of how long we've known each other, I still haven't figured you out. Sure, I got your personality down but, you confuse me. It's like you have another person to you that wants to get out and at times it gets the best of you." She attempted to explain to the best of her abilities.

He chuckled and shook his head, "You're the same way. You act like this cold hearted, tough person but in reality when you're with us you're the sweetest person we know- at least I think. Especially with Trevor, it's like he brings out this side of you that no one else can. You stay under his wing and that's something I've hardly seen anyone do." The girl turned an amused gaze towards him.

"Well, could you blame me? I didn't know I had a father until my mom died and when I finally find him I can't help but to be attached to him. And what about you! When Michael adopted you, you were so happy. I thought that was adorable." She teased and nudged his arm with her elbow. He glared at her, his cheeks flushed a light pink, before he shoved her lightly as she let out a light laugh. He looked down at his phone, noticing that they'd been at their hill top for a full two hours and it was now eleven-o'-clock.

"Whatever. We've got to get going, Angel, or both of our fathers are gonna throw a bitch fit when they realize we've been out past 'curfew'!" He stood and held out a hand to her, in which she took and grabbed the dogs leash before they started their way to Trevor's apartment.

"You know we're not letting this conversation go right, Dash?" The girl said nudging him once more.

"Yeah, I know. I swear you can be so annoying at times…" The boy snapped, pulling his hoodie up over his strawberry blond hair and putting his hands behind his head.

Angel giggled lightly and began to run ahead of him, "Hurry up, slow-poke!" She called to him.

"Hey- wait! Angel- fuck- wait up!"

~.~.~.~.~.~

And that was why they were friends. They adopted the nick-names of Yin and Yang, much to her distaste. They'd gotten them from her observations. The two of them had the personalities that fit together, and they were so alike that it caused them to butt heads sometimes. They were exactly like Michael and Trevor. The males had even admitted so themselves. And even though Michael and Dash weren't related by blood they surely did have some personality similarities. Same with Trevor and Angel, they were exactly alike. The two were a strange pair, truthfully. Usually Angel would be the silent type, but ever since Dash De Santa came into her life she changed- she put up a façade towards anyone that she wasn't close to. Although she was encouraged to go out there and start talking to people other than her friends and family. She refused. She didn't want to be friends with some spoiled brat who didn't understand her.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Angel, we haven't adopted nick-names for each other!" The male called as they walked side by side down the dirt path. Her eyes staring into the pages of a book, as she led the snow-white dog to her right, she scoffed in annoyance, "Why exactly do we need nick-names again?"

"Because…we just do! It's the normal thing for best-friends to have for each other!" He exclaimed smirking in her direction. She frowned and closed the book before looking at him, "You do realize our names are nick-names in themselves, right?" She stated matter of factly.

"Well, yeah but don't you think it'll be cool to call each other something other than 'Dash' and 'Angel'?" He asked. With a roll of the eyes, she paused and concealed the book into her backpack slung over her shoulder, "What do you have in mind then? And don't let it be anything stupid."

"How about…Batman and Robin?" He suggested, causing the girl to snort.

"What did I just say, Dash?" She glared at him. He shrugged and tucked his hands in his pockets, "That was only a suggestion. That didn't mean you had to agree with it."

"How about Yin and Yang? I'm Yin and you're Yang in a sense." She said with a shrug. The boy shrugged, "What exactly do Yin and Yang mean?

"Yin and Yang are the two principles in which balance each other out with the differences of their personalities. Yin being negative, dark, and feminine and Yang being positive, bright, and masculine. I think we symbolize that to a point; me symbolizing Yin and you being Yang." She explained, bending down to pick up a stray pebble.

"Oh, you know, that actually sounds really fucking cool. You being the Yin to my Yang…" He smirked as she chucked the pebble into the field next to the path. With a roll of the eyes, she shrugged and they began their walk once more.

"You know that was clever, right? The whole Yin and Yang thing. How do you come up with stuff like that on the spot?" The teen questioned, kicking a soda can in front of them. Angel shrugged, "It's all a matter of observing and researching. I observe you all the time while I also did my research on Yin and Yang." She told the boy.

He gaped, "And how long have you been observing me?" He questioned.

"Since we've known each other; I did say I was still figuring you out, didn't I?" She stated with a side glance. He glared at her, becoming irritated with her use of sarcasm.

"True…" He droned with a frown, raking his fingers through his hair.

"Exactly." She said, ending the conversation. It got quiet once more as they continued their walk, never bringing the topic up again.

~.~.~.~.~.~

As time went on, the two had experienced more with each other than they had when they were alone. Though that only made their memories more amusing. They shared their own little paradise. One that no one would be able to intrude on because it was heavily guarded. And even though it was nothing to the blind eye, in their own eyes it was theirs. They cherished it, fore it held everything they stood for and believed in. Every memory recorded there was held upon a pedestal and praised with every given wake. Every smile they shared together, every chuckle they gave, every walk they took, and every cry they gave was held in their very own shrine.

Because they shared something that no one else did. Their unbreakable bond was a symbol. One that signified that they would stand with each other no matter what, they'd stand for the evolution of their friendship, and one that gave off the vibe that they not only were connected mentally but spiritually as well. They stood side by side, fighting for each other, and in the long run- gaining what they'd lost.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"I honestly don't understand the concept of 'Trick-or-Treating'. What's the whole point?" Asked the fourteen year old who was currently on her father's back. Her best friend, who was walking alongside his own, glared at her from the corner of his eye, "What's there not to get? You obtain free candy by going door to door in a childish costume and adults coo in delight right before giving you a small portion of candy you can get at least two sizes bigger in a store. It's actually fun when you look at it from a child's perspective." He mocked with a shrug.

"Oh, well that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the explanation it really helps." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes at the boy. Trevor, glanced at Michael and it seemed like he was thinking the same exact thing he was, "See what happens when we raise children?" He spoke, amusement laced in his tone. Michael scoffed at the male, "Speak for yourself; if it weren't for the fact that Angel has a bit more brain cells and wasn't a lunatic you two could pose as twins."

With a glare, Trevor flipped him off, "Hey fuck you too, buddy." He retorted as they continued their way down the street. "Care to inform me where we're going?" Michael questioned his own child. The boy shrugged, "There's a celebration going on at the pier; fireworks, food, rides- stuff like that. It supposed to be free rides so we, Angel and I, decided on going but we didn't want to go alone. So, we decided to bring you two with us." He told the male, who in response muttered something under his breath.

"We wanted to go with people we were familiar with and we don't have any friends so voila, here we are." The girl droned from her fathers back. With a glare, the other teen retaliated, "No, you don't have any friends. I have friends-!"

"Dash, Casper does not count as a friend. That's more of a- you know what I'm not even going to finish that statement." She teased him, causing her father to let out a low chuckle.

"Now I get what you're saying. They're like split fucking images of us." Trevor commented, earning a nod from Michael.

"We act nothing like you guys! Well, I don't- Angel is another story though. She's a special case actually. You have problems." Dash mocked the girl who was currently shooting daggers at him. The corny ass saying 'If looks could kill- he'd be six feet under' was not lying because at that moment he felt as though he was going to be killed by her malicious gaze.

"I see nothing wrong with the way I act, idiot. In my opinion, having a similar personality to my father has actually saved me a couple of times. So, please, suck a fat one." She replied with a narrowing of her eyes. The other teen returned the look and the heated glaring match began.

"Bite me, brat." Dash snapped, with a light smirk on his face.

"You know, sometimes I want to cut off that appendage you call a tongue and shove it down your throa-!" She was cut off by Dash crossing his arms over his chest and gracing her with a simple smile, "See, you just proved my point. You're bi-polar and a bit crazy."

With an unexpected force she jumped from her fathers grasp and made a grab for the boy, who in response squeaked out of surprise and made a mad dash down the sidewalk, "Get back here you know it all, idiotic- ugh!" The girl shouted as she followed after him.

"See? Just like her father." Michael taunted the male who watched after the two with an irritated gaze. He turned towards the other male, "I get it Mikey, she's exactly like me. Shut the fuck up about it." He snapped at him, earning a shake of the head from the amused male.

~.~.~.~.~.~

They've built a force-field around their bond. For every second they have let that barrier become weak they were in a vulnerable state themselves and their paradise was exposed to bits and pieces of harsh realities, tainting it in small places but not enough to where it would damage the new found peace inside. That paradise was there to shield them from the reality that where there was glory there was always a dark undertone. An undertone they didn't want to deal with anymore. And their paradise was there to make sure that whatever was dark was brought into the light. And with every bight light there was a dark undertone, and luckily that undertone would stay in the dark for a while. Just so they could get their happy ending. Because in time, the undertone would suffocate their paradise and it would consume the bright beauty of it and repress it, replacing it with fear.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Angel, we need our own little place. You know somewhere we can just hang-out and forget?" A twelve year old, Dash told his eleven year old companion. Once reading a book, she looked at him, before rolling her eyes, "Isn't that what our hill is? Our place to come and forget society?" She questioned the boy who in return shook his head.

"Don't you want to add on to it though? Expand it so we can have more to experience?" Dash responded, his gaze upwards. She snorted, "Sure, we can expand it. But with what? Another place in the hills?" She responded, sarcasm lacing her tone causing the boy to roll his eyes and frown.

"It could be up here, I guess. But, I want something new. Maybe a part of the beach that we haven't even explored." He suggested with a small smile on his lips. She stared over the grassy plain as if contemplating, before saying, "We're literally right over the beach so isn't that already ours, in a sense?"

"What do you mean?" He was confused, his right brow was arched as he turned to look at her. She shrugged and with light amusement in her tone she said, "When we claimed this ours; the beach came with it, did it not? Or is this one area considered ours?"

"I didn't know that's how it went!" He exclaimed, his brows furrowed and a scowl adorning his features.

"In my mind, that's how it went. Because, when we were looking for this place we walked the beach and each part of that became ingrained in my memory and that's what added on to this when we finally settled down on the hill. It didn't work like that for you?" She tilted her head to the side, her expression blank, and her eyes glistening in the sun.

"No. No, that's not how it went for me. I thought that the place we ingrained into our minds as our own and we settled into were literally ours. Like, we claimed that place because we're always there." He responded, his eyes narrowing in disdain.

"Well, technically we are always there. We have to pass there to get here every time we come here, right? So that became ours along with the hill, in my head. I just thought we had the same mind-set but obviously we don't." She stated uninterested. He glared at her. Sometimes he hated her smart-ass attitude.

"That's stupid." He retorted.

"You're stupid." She gave him the short answer as she began reading her book once more and they fell silent once more. He stared at the sky and her nose in a book. This is what they normally did, and as her best friend he wouldn't have it any other way.

~.~.~.~.~.~

That was why they were best-friends. Why they were as close as their fathers were. Simply because that's how they'd became friends in the first place. Angel had always been the some-what quiet rock and he was the boisterous, curious one. That's why they got along so well. Because the both of them were very much different, physical wise, it caused a collision with their personalities. That's how Angel thought of the nick-names Yin and Yang. The mending of their battle scars was done with one another. They were there for each other when the other was in need of help. And would she change their friendship? No. The relationship she shared with the male was something that surfaced when she learned how to connect with others, including her own father.

Besides, they needed one another. It was just simply impossible for the two of them not to. They were Yin and fucking Yang!

~.~.~.~.~.~

"I'm not gonna lie- I love the peace we have here." The teenage boy spoke, hands dug into the pockets of his jeans. Angel, who was leaning against an oak tree, crossed her arms and gave a faint smile, "I do too. I gives me time to escape from reality." She muttered.

"How long do you think we have here?" He asked, his gaze at the beach across from them. The girl shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure; a while maybe?"

"A while isn't good enough though." He snapped to himself. She glanced at him, before rolling her eyes, "We'll make it count while it lasts. Stop worrying."

"I hope you're right." He smiled faintly, and plopped down upon the grassy plain.

"Aren't I always?" She said, and re-opened her book.

~.~.~.~.~.~

"Let's play a game
Where all of the lives we lead can change
Let's play a game
Where nothing that we can see, the same"-'Au Revoir- OneRepublic'

~.~.~.~.~.~

Leave A Review To Show Appreciation Or How I Can Improve My Writing.