The Model Home

"Guys come on." Sandy called to us from the barbecue. "Out of the pool. Dinner's almost ready."

I looked to Seth, who clearly had no intention of getting off his inflatable chair, as to what I should do. He simply shrugged off his dad and continued so stare at me.

"Will you please stop?" I asked him.

"What?" He asked my breasts, before shaking his head. "What?" He repeated, this time making sure I knew he was looking at my head, I simply glared at him. "Sorry." He said sheepishly. "Anyway," he shook his head once more, "you know what I was thinking? I think that this being your last night and all, uh, we should do something special I don't know what. Possibly get a couple of tattoos," he continued after pausing for a beat, "or some hookers and loose our virginity. Do they have hookers for lesbians?" I splashed water at him, trying to get his eyes to unglaze at the thought of lesbian sex. "Right? Okay, sorry." He said again. "There's a shark movie at the IMAX. If that's what you're into." I just shrugged at him. "You're doing that quiet thing again, I thought I'd got you to talk more."

"It comes in peaks and waves." I explained, relieved for a break in his ramblings.

"This about you leaving tonight?" I just shrugged again. "See," he pointed at me, "this is why we should go out and do something, go out and get you out of your dark, quiet brooding thing you seem to do occasionally.

"I don't brood."

"No," he drawled, "and you're not sarcastic either."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Why can't we just take it easy?"

"Cause I think my prostitute plan is a winner." He smiled at me.

I just shook my head at him, and rolled off my inflatable chair. "Come on. Out." I said before pushing over his chair so that he got out of the pool too and then swam to the edge and climbed out. I grabbed my towel off one of the lounges and padded into the pool house, making sure to drop the blinds before getting changed, knowing Seth was still looking at me.

I towelled off quickly and threw on my last set of clean clothes, tying my hair into a lose ponytail so not to get the back of my shirt wet. I chucked Kirsten's bikini onto the floor of the shower, hoping that that would encourage it to dry and I walked back into the main house.

"How was your swim?" Kirsten asked, as I shut the door behind me.

"Alright," I shrugged at her.

"You're quieter today, you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded at her, putting on a smile in the hope of reassuring her of my happiness before quickly changing the subject. "What's this?" I asked her, pointing to a small cardboard building on the kitchen counter.

"It's a model home. I- I build them." She explained, leaning over it with me. "Well, the real ones, not that one."

"Wanna build me one?" I didn't look up from the model, but I heard her mouth open and close beside me. "Sorry," I moved my head and saw her looking guiltily at me; "it was a joke." I said quietly.

"Funny." She muttered, turning away and grabbing plates for dinner before passing them to me to put on the table.

I laid them down and sat at one of the chairs, to be joined by Seth a moment later and then Sandy placing down food from the grill.

"So... last supper, huh?" He said, sitting down opposite, "Sorry," he apologised to Kirsten upon seeing her face. "Bad joke."

"It's just a laugh riot around here." She sighed at him, sitting down at the head of the table.

"This all looks really good." I told them, after a pregnant pause.

"Yeah." Seth nodded next to me. "It's too bad you're leaving. We never eat like this."

"That's not true." Kirsten said, still looking indignant. "I cook all the time."

Seth simply scoffed at this remark "Dad..."

"I'm sorry, honey." He laughed.

"Let's just eat." She told them both.

"We're not saying we want you to cook more." Sandy said, cutting up his food.

"Oh," Seth scoffed once more, "hell no! You remember the meat loaf incident of '98?"

"That was brisket." She told him.

"Yeah," he nodded, "that's my point exactly."

I just sat in relative silence, listening to their exchange around me. I didn't want to go and consequently I didn't know what to say to them.

The few days I'd stayed with them had been some of the best days of my life and such a contrast to everything back in Chino. The Cohen's talked to each other and further more enjoyed each other's company. They sat down to eat together, watched movies together… they were an actual family.

It made me sad thinking about mine. We were seldom all in the house at the same time. And if we were? Trey would be in his room smoking some sort of drug whilst his rap music was up at the highest volume, Mom would be passed out on the couch, AJ in his chair yelling at the TV and I would be sat in my room reading something to take my mind out of the house. Though we were all there we were anything but together.

I knew that this would be the best I could achieve out of life. Sandy had used his links at the D.A.'s office to get me a quick placement. 'Eighteen and out' was the only thing going through my mind as he told me.

After dinner, Sandy put some forms in front of me and asked me to sign them. "As your attorney I'll co-sign these forms," he said as I ran the pen over the paper. "They basically say that you don't have a legal parent or guardian available."

"I'm now property of the government. Nickname: 0382965." I sighed, "Suits me."

"Hey, it's better than 'Death-Breath' Seth," Seth joked from the sink as he died the dishes, "Or so I would imagine." He mumbled, when I simply looked at him.

"So we'll meet with your social worker in the morning." Sandy continued, ignoring us both. "And, uh, she'll be the one to, uh, to take you to the group home. My contact at Child Services got you a room with only two other kids, which is good, because it can get crowded."

"Thanks. I appreciate it…" I nodded, still staring at the forms, 'Eighteen and out' once again running round my head. "I don't want to have to fight over the bathroom whilst a load of fourteen year old girls scramble to put on their makeup."

"And, you know, they do find foster homes for kids your age."

"Yeah." I sighed; my eyes still locked on the number 0382965.

"Yeah, because everybody wants a brand-new teenager." Seth said, making me take my eyes off the form for the first time since it had been put in front of me. "I'm sorry," he continued, ignoring the looks from his parents, "if I'm the only one here that'll state the obvious-"

"Seth..." Kirsten was practically begging him to stop with her eyes alone.

"But we have all this extra room, right?" He continued regardless. "We have a pool house. Yet you guys are going to ship her off to a group home. Am I the only one who gets how much that sucks?"

"It's fine really." I told him, putting my signature on another form. "Just drop it." I put the pen down and pushed the papers towards Sandy. "Good luck with the model home." I smiled weakly at Kirsten, as I passed it on the way to the door. "It looks perfect. Good night." I nodded to all of them opening the door.

"Good night." They said in near perfect unison.

I walked back out to the pool house, I was already packed up, so that was taken care of. I walked round the small space before remembering the bikini. I walked in the en suite and was hardly surprised to find it still wet. I picked it up and hung it on the towel rack before heading back out and flinging myself on the bed.

'Eighteen and out.' I though as I laid there, still in my clothes. Maybe my vision of foster care would be better had I not read White Oleander.

I was sixteen, I could take care of myself, and I didn't need to be dubbed with a number and watched by people paid to care about me. I'd practically looked after myself when I was living with Mom; I didn't need anybody else. If I learned anything, I'd learned that.

I rubbed my eyes and considered my options. I could go with the social services lady and spend the next two years being pushed from pillar to post until the government decided I was old enough to not be babysat. Or I could just leave and look after myself. People were unreliable at the end of the day; I had myself that was all I needed.

I waited until all the lights had gone out in the main house, then waited at bit more to guarantee the Cohens were all asleep before I scooped up my bag and quietly left the pool house and headed towards the gate.

"Uh, are you running away?" I turned round and saw Seth standing on the patio in his pyjamas.

"Seriously," I sighed, putting my hand to my head and rubbing my temples, "why can't I hear anyone approach anymore?"

"What?" He frowned at me.

"Go back in the house, Seth," I told him. "I know what I'm doing." I said turning back and walking to the gate.

"Hey, hey, hey." He caught up with me and put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me back. "You can't just run away. What are you thinking? What about like, Child Services, or, or my Dad?"

"'Eighteen and out'? Yeah that's not going to be me." I said, shrugging his hand away.

"Okay, then, wait." His hand was back on my shoulder. "Hey, I want to come with you. You know what I've always wanted to do besides sail to Tahiti? I want to do that whole Kerouac thing, hit the road, stop at diner to diner, the pancake tour of North America."

"More of a waffle fan myself, so that's going to be a 'no'."

"Do you at least know where you're going to go, what you're going to do?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, "Hit a town, get a job somewhere, save some money."

"That's a great plan." He deadpanned. "Sounds like you've given it a lot of thought."

"Beats the hell out of a pancake tour!" I hissed at him. "Have any other bright ideas?"

"Actually, I do." He slowly started to smile.

"Oh no." I pointed at his face. "I know you well enough to know that that is not a good sign."

He told me to wait at the bottom of the drive and that he'd meet me there in five minutes. However, twelve minutes later, there was no sign of him. He plan wasn't brilliant but it was the best thing I had at the time so I simply kept glancing between the house and my watch wondering just exactly where this 'totally fool proof starting place' for me was.

"I didn't think I'd see you again." I jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Jesus Christ." I sighed at her, my hand on my heart. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Didn't you hear me coming?" She asked, using her free hand to point over her shoulder but not taking her eyes off me.

"I haven't been very good at hearing people approach recently."

"You might want to get your hearing checked out then." she smiled walking away from her drive and towards me. "Look," she swallowed, "I wanted to say thanks, for the other night."

"No problem." I shrugged, "Actually that's a lie, carrying you from your drive to the Cohens' pool house was harder than I anticipated." I smiled weakly. "You always drink like that?" I asked her after a break in the conversation.

"I don't know," she folded her arms around the present she was holding, "you always lie about who you are?"

"What you mean?"

"You decided which parent lives in Seattle?" She asked me, raising just one of her eyebrows slightly.

"Ah." I scratched the side of my head.

"So, who are you tonight?"

"I'm, uh, Alex." I went to hold out my hand, but then thought better of it and stuffed it back in my pocket, "And I'm the girl I told you I was the first time we spoke."

"The stolen car?" she frowned at me.

"Is now being used as evidence to hold my brother for three to five years," I nodded glumly, "That and a gun and some pot."

"And you're from?"

"Chino."

"Explains the clothes." She said simply, starting to walk back to her drive.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" I called after her, having looked my outfit up and down.

"Nothing." She shrugged, "if you're into stealing cars."

"Least I'm sober!" I retorted quickly.

The comment, which was incredibly low, made her walk back towards me, she pointed at and opened her mouth. However, just as she was clearly about to yell at me she stopped, instead choosing to stare over my shoulder. I turned and instantly spotted what, rather who, she was looking at. Seth was running down the drive carrying what looked suspiciously like a skateboard.

"Alex, we're all set. You ready-" He stopped suddenly, clearly having realised that Marissa was standing beside me, her finger still pointed at me. "Hi, there, Marissa."

"What are you doing?" She asked us, finally dropping her hand.

"Nothing." Seth and I told her quickly.

"We're just hanging out." He continued, "Oh look," He pointed to the gift, "it's somebody's birthday. I guess my invitation probably got lost in the mail."

"It's my friend, Summer's, birthday." She told him.

"Summer's birthday's not till Wednesday… That's what I heard. I don't know. I... that was a geu-"

"Stop talking." I told him.

"You guys are up to something." Marissa said eventually, eyeing us both with curiosity.

"Dude," Seth turned to me, "what did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her anything." I told him simply before pulling at his top, "I think the black turtleneck in August might have tipped her off though."

"Okay, I was going for stealth, and also it's slimming. We should really go," he said quickly, "Have fun at your party."

"Say hi to Summer for me." I smiled at her, picking up my bike from the curb.

"Dude!" Seth said, looking at me somewhat pathetically.

"Oh don't pull that face," I sighed, "I didn't mean it like that. Nothing happened."

"Uh," Marissa interrupted us, "what are you two talking about?"

"Nothing." I said quickly. "Don't you have some sort of party to be going to?" I made a slight shooing motion at her.

She looked at us both for a moment, apparently considering her answer before she said: "It can wait."


"Why won't you tell me where we're going?" Marissa asked Seth via her rear-view mirror. "This is pretty far away."

"Oh, wow, complaining. That's- that's very interesting considering nobody invited you."

"Before I came along, you were on a skateboard." She smiled at him.

"She has a point." I said, looking over the back of the front seat at him.

"You can just be quiet." She told me, "I'm not sure if I like you yet."

"Then why are you helping me?" I asked her simply.

"Cause," she sighed, "if it wasn't for you, Dad would have found me asleep on the driveway when he went out to collect the paper and that would have resulted in being grounded for like a month."

"So you do kinda like me then." I smiled at her, to which she simply turned away and focussed on the drive.

"You like them?" She nodded towards her CD player, after obviously getting bored of the silence between us all.

"Yeah, I guess." I shrugged.

"Well, what do you like?"

"Indie mainly. There are some really cool British bands on the scene at the moment." I told her. "You heard of the Arctic Monkeys or The Kaiser Chiefs?" It didn't surprise me when she shook her head. "What are you into then?"

"Well, right now? Punk." She smiled proudly at me.

"I'm sorry, uh, Avril Lavigne doesn't count as punk." Seth piped up from the back.

"Oh yeah?" She asked him, once again communicating via the rear view mirror. "Well, what about The Cramps? Still Little Fingers? The Clash? Sex Pistols?"

"I listen to the same music as Marissa Cooper? I think I have to kill myself." Seth went back to staring out of the window.

"Listen to punk, huh?" I smiled at her.

"I'm angry." She said simply.

"Yeah I know." I laughed at her.

"He-"

"That's it right there." Seth leaned between us and pointed out the windshield, cutting Marissa off. "Dude, it's miles from nowhere, totally secret, and I have a key." He smiled at me.

We pulled up to his darkened, half finished building. It wasn't really even a building; it was a shell, a shape for things to come.

"Look's scary." Marissa told him, staring up at it.

"Well, then, you can stay in the car." Seth replied, opening his door. I copied his lead and hopped out and followed him in to the building.

He illuminated the half-finished building with torch light, somewhat reminiscent of The Famous Five. My eyes followed the light of his torch and saw just how incomplete the building was, what with bits of scaffolding, dustsheets and even a cement mixer in one of the corners. It seemed like the building site version of the Mary Celeste, just abandoned with no apparent reason why.

"You recognise this place, Alex?" He smiled at me.

"This isn't-"

"Where are we?" Marissa asked, before I could finish my sentence.

"Mrs Cohen's model home." I told her looking at Seth. "She's going to kill us if I stay here and then the only way I'll be allowed back in your house is if I haunt the joint."

"I have two problems with what you just said." Seth sighed, holding up two fingers. "One," he put down one of his digits, "will you quit calling Mom 'Mrs Cohen' that's just weird and way too polite for someone that's served time."

"It was a week, I don't think that counts a serving time."

"Time was still technically served my friend." He said, waving me off. "And two," he put down his last finger and then consequently his hand, "this build has been abandoned for weeks with no sign of work re-commencing. Like I told you, fool proof."

"Why?" Marissa asked, "Did someone die here and now it's haunted?"

"Yes," Seth drawled at her, "that's exactly what happened."

"What did happen?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"Do you ever listen when you mom talks?" I asked him, taking his torch and walking further into the building.

"I try not to," he said, following me, "it's easier that way."

"Hey!" Marissa called after us, "Don't- don't leave me…" her voice dropped as she said the last bit.

I turned round and shone the light in her eyes; "You're not scared are you?" I smiled at her.

"No." she told me, holding her hand over her eyes, shielding out the light.

"Okay," I nodded at her, before turning back to find Seth.

"Wait!" She said incredibly quickly. "If I admit I'm scared will you wait for me?"

"Come on," I smiled at her, more gently this time, and held out my hand for her which she surprised me by taking.

We found Seth outside, skating in the empty pool; he wasn't actually all that bad. Marissa and I just watched him; till she realised she was still holding my hand and quickly let go and turned back to the house.

"You don't actually want her to stay here, do you?" She called out to Seth.

"Well," he stopped in the centre of the pool, "I mean, I know the place needs some sprucing up, but-" he stopped when he saw my raised eyebrows. "G-d, did I just say 'sprucing'?" I simply nodded. "So," he shook his head, "Alex what do you think?"

"I haven't really had time to think." I told him, turning to look at Marissa, "What with trying to protect Marissa from the scary ghosts and all." I smiled at her, just to be hit on the arm. "Ow!"

"Do you want me to like you?" She asked me.

"Will it mean you stop hitting me?" I asked her back.

"Maybe." She smiled.

"Then yes, I would like you to like me." I said, returning her smile.

"Are you two flirting?" Seth asked, looking up at us from the pool.

"No." Marissa laughed at him. "I'm straight and I have a boyfriend."

"Ah yes," Seth sighed, starting up skating again, "how could I forget after he and his friends tried to kill us the other night."

"Don't exaggerate, they did not try to kill us the other night," I sighed at him. "They tried to kill me!"

"What?" Marissa looked at me; "Luke would not do that, I mean you're a girl." I lifted up my shirt so that she could see the remnants of my bruising from where he'd kicked me. "Ouch." She empathised, her fingers lightly feeling the edge of it.

"Yeah," I nodded, dropping my shirt once she'd taken her hand back, "I said something pretty similar."

"Why though?" She asked frowning.

"Cause it hurt!"

"No I mean why he hit you?"

"Cause I found one of his friends holding Seth by the ankles." She looked over at Seth skating in the pool.

"What?" he questioned.

"Nothing." She shook her head and went back to looking at me. "How that result in you getting hit."

"I kinda hit the guy that was holding Seth and then L- Luke?" she nodded, "hit me for hitting his friend."

"That's not how it works." She told me.

"That's what I told him,"

"I'm sorry." She sighed.

"Looks it really no biggy," I shrugged at her, "I'm used to guys hitting me. How I learnt to throw a punch in the first place." That sentence left a silence between us, broken only by the sound of Seth's wheels spinning on the concrete of the pool "You hungry?" I asked her after a while.

"A little."

"Seth, we're going out for take out, you want anything?"

"I'm good."

"Cool, see you in a bit then." I nodded at him, to which he simply raised his hand as way of goodbye. I held out my hand for Marissa, "Coming?" I asked her when she simply looked at it, "Or do you want to brave the house alone?" to which she grabbed my hand and I pulled her through the house with me to her car.


"So, your mom," Marissa asked me, a mouth full of burger, as we sat opposite each other in a booth at McDonald's "I mean, she has to come back, right?"

"I don't know, she might be too busy drinking." I sighed, popping a couple of fries in my mouth. "My mom's... kind of a train wreck, with some rabid dogs sifting through the mess."

"Wow," She smiled, "mine's pretty similar. What about your dad? Can you call him?"

"Dad's in jail. He decided he wanted to empty his, and everyone elses', accounts by using a gun. Cool, huh?"

"No wonder you brother was into stealing cars." She said, eyebrows raised.

"You got to have a good role model." I smiled at her, starting on her fries having finished mine.

"My dad, he's like, a financial planner. And I think he's in trouble."

"I heard that Phfzer are doing good. Tell him to invest." She stopped sipping at her drink and looked at me quizzically. "No? You mean that wasn't a cue for stock tips? Sorry, my bad."

"He stopped going to the office," she explained after getting over my Phfzer type interruption, "and these guys keep showing up at the door, like cops, but he won't answer." She pause again, "Look, I haven't told anybody about it-"

"I can keep a secret. I'm very good under torture." We simply sat and smiled at each other until Avril Lavigne's 'Sk8er Boi' rang out from her phone. I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing, thinking about what Seth had said in the car.

"Yeah I know," she rolled her eyes, "it's not punk."

"Hey," I held up my hands, "I didn't say anything."

She picked up her cell and checked out the caller ID.

"I got to take this." She said as she slipped out the booth and flipped open her phone. "Hey," she said into it. "Oh, you're sweet…" I tried not to listen to her conversation as I polished off her fries. "Okay, I'll be there soon. Say hi to everyone… Love you too. Bye." She sat back down and shook her cartoon of fries up side down and watched as only one fell out, she looked up and me with her raised eyebrows yet again.

"What?" I asked, "I'd finished mine."

"Fine," she nodded snatching up my Diet Coke, "I get your drink." She smiled.

"Fine." I smiled back as I listened to her 'slurp' from my empty cup.

"You owe me." She told me, putting down the cup.

"I'll get you more fries." I told her standing up and walking up to the counter, just to walk back to her a second later. I leaned over her and whispered in her ear, "Hey, can I borrow a dollar?"

"Just sit down." She laughed finishing her burger before I could.

"So," I tried to sound as nonchalant as I was able, "how long you been with him?"

"Luke? Um, I don't know, really. Why?"

"No reason." I shrugged at her. "So…" She laughed quietly. "Come on," I balled up my trash and chucked it on the tray, "or Seth's going to think we've died." I stood up and headed towards the door.

"Or having sex." She suggested simply, making me stop dead, she just laughed in my ear as she passed me.


We walked back into the house to find Seth sitting in the centre of, what I assumed would turn out to be, the main room hugging his skateboard close to his chest. He stood up the second he saw us and instantly placed his hands on his hips.

"How long does it take to pick up take out?" he asked indignantly.

"We ended up eating in." I explained.

"And then we had sex in the bathroom." Marissa said simply looking round the room, she turned round when neither Seth or I said anything. "You should so see your faces." She laughed.

"You had sex?" Seth bounced excitedly. "Don't suppose you have any pictures to show me."

"One." I hit him round the back of the head. "And two; we didn't have sex."

"Then why…" he pointed to Marissa.

"I don't know." I told him. "So what you been doing?"

"Oh yeah." He went back to smiling. "Follow me. So as you two like abandoned me for so long-"

"Alex asked if you wanted anything." Marissa said to him, her hand miraculously back in mine as we were walking through the house.

"I didn't then…" he muttered, as he pushed aside a dustsheet used as a curtain. "Anyway," he shook his head, "as I was left to my own devises so long I thought I'd have a look around the place and," he shrugged, shining his torch around the room, "thought this could be your room."

"I still don't know," I shrugged at him, my hands deep in my pockets since Marissa had let go of my hand, "if it's a good idea for me to stick around or not."

"You should stay." Marissa told me, as she too stared around the space.

I looked at her and smiled. "Okay… for a little while."

"So when she says it you, you listen?" Seth asked me.

"She has prettier hair." I smiled, refusing to take my eyes of her, just to get hit on the arm by Seth.

"Dude." He laughed.

"Wha-" however, I was interrupted by Marissa's purse singing 'Skater Boi' into the unfinished room.

"Oh my G-d!" Seth laughed at her.

"Don't." she told him as she fumbled through her bag, she looked at the caller ID before flipping open her phone once more. "Hey, Summer."

"Oh, hey, hey, hey. Is that Summer?" Seth jumped excitedly as Marissa nodded slightly "Tell her I said happy birthday."

"Okay… Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm coming." She continued into her cell.

"Tell her I said 'Happy Birthday'!" Seth smiled at her.

"Seth Cohen says happy birthday…" She covered the speaker with her hand, "She says thanks." She told him before placing the phone back to her ear and walking away to finish her conversation.

Seth bounced up and down beside me, a stupidly big smile on his face.

"Why are you so happy?" I laughed at him before dropping my voice to make sure Marissa didn't over hear, "I mean we don't even know if she likes guys."

"Dude," he pointed at me, "don't ruin this moment for me!" To which I simply held up my hands and allowed him to go back to bouncing until Marissa returned.

"I gotta go meet my friends." She looked between me and Seth before correcting herself. "My... other... friends."

"I should get back too." Seth said, "Protect my cover. But wait, listen, we have to promise not to tell anyone about this place, okay? Now, Alex's not going to, obviously. And I could get grounded, so that leaves... Marissa." he shone his flashlight on her like a spotlight.

"I'm very good under torture." She smiled at me.

"Okay," he clapped his hands together, "see you tomorrow."

"Me too." Marissa added quickly, "We'll fix this place up."

"Cool." I smiled back at her.

"I'm telling you Al, this plan is foolproof…" He smiled before heading out the hanging dust sheet with Marissa, "You've got your very own model home." He called back to me just as I sat down on the hard, cold, unfinished floor and wondered about how the hell I was going to be able to get to sleep on it.


"So you didn't tell them anything?" I asked Seth the next day as he threw me a bundled up tent.

"Um, actually I told them that you went to Mexico for cockfights." He smiled as he dropped the bag he was carrying and started to unpack it.

"You wanna help me with this?" I asked looking up at him from my seat on the floor surrounded by various bits of tent that I had no idea what to do with.

"Marissa?" he asked nodding towards me.

"You're the guy; you set it up." She laughed at him.

"Chivalry's dead, Sweetheart." She sighed before she came down and crouched besides me, picking up the mangled paper instructions. "You know what though?" Seth continued, ignoring us and the tent, "Even if they don't believe me they'll never look for you here." He moved and started to unpack the things Marissa had brought. "Did you seriously bring a loafer?"

"What's a loafer?" I asked her as I connected metal poles with her.

"What kind of girl are you?" she laughed at me, throwing the canvas over me.

"The kind that is apparently too busy stealing cars to know what a loafer is." I laughed back as I pulled the tent off me and started threading one of the metal poles into their allocated slot.

"Anyway," she turned to Seth, "you said bring whatever was around the house."

"But, I meant like, survival supplies like a rope or muskets and not…" he picked up a bottle, "Kio's cucumber moisturiser?"

"Okay," she looked me up and down before conceding, "that was probably a bad call but…" she got up and went over to Seth and her bag, "I did bring this." She smiled proudly as she pulled out a roll of toilet paper.

"Good idea." I nodded at her.

"That's nice, yeah." Seth agreed, starting to practice his putting with the golf supplies he'd apparently brought for me. He putted the ball into the next ball and when he went to retrieve it, Marissa pulled another object out of her bag and handed it to me.

It was a mixed CD, with a picture of a house on it and she'd titled it 'The Model Home.'

"There's a little of everything." She explained, pointing at the CD.

"It got Avril on?"

"She didn't make the cut." She smiled back. "But there's all the punk I'm listening to at the moment."

"Cool." I nodded at her, "You bring a CD player for me to listen to it on?"

She went back to the bag and pulled out a small pink portable stereo system. "It's my sisters." She explained, noting me eyeing up the colour with suspicion. "She hasn't used it since she got her iPod, which by the way, is also pink."

I laughed at her, "When I first bumped into you, I reckoned you'd be all pink and," I waved my hand.

"And?" She prompted.

"Well," I shrugged at her, "you're actually kind of cool."

"That's it?" She laughed as she playfully placed her hands on her hips to emphasise her mock anger. "I miss most of my best friend's birthday party to get you settled into a really dark and creepy abandoned house, and I'm just kind of cool?"

"Well the house isn't dark and scary, especially now its day time." I smiled at her. "Plus you don't have to stay here."

She simply rolled her eyes leaving the room in silence until Seth walked back in, throwing up and down his golf ball he'd retrieved.

"This place is perfect." He smiled, "Seriously, it's totally safe. Al, how perfect is this place, right? Seriously, what else could you need?"

"Anyone bring any food?"

"Um ... yeah, food." He nodded at Marissa, who simply shook her head, "Guess we're going on a mission."


I followed Seth to the dinner, him on his skateboard and Marissa holding onto my shoulders on the back of my bike.

We made our way into a more populated area, with completed and even inhabited buildings. Marissa rode on the back of my bike, holding me close for support, followed Seth, on his skateboard, onto a pier and we were forced to weave in and out of the midday crowd. He stopped outside a dinner, making me break suddenly to stay next to him which caused Marissa to hug me closer to save falling off.

"Sorry," Seth said sheepishly as he looked at me and Marissa leaned over my handle bars, "I just really like the food here."

"Say, guys," I said after we'd ordered lunch, "I've been thinking about a plan."

"You know, uh, right now this could very well be the first stop on our pancake tour of North America." Seth smiled.

"I told you I'm all about the waffles."

"Hey, like in "On the Road"?" Marissa asked ignoring my waffle comment. "That's my favourite book."

"Mine, too." Seth said slowly.

"So here's the deal." I said, trying to get the conversation back on track. "My mom had this boyfriend. He hired me to work this lame waitress gig last summer. But then they broke up... he moved away... to Austin."

"In Texas?" Seth asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "He said if I was ever out there look him up, so..." I shrugged.

"Well, I mean, well that's... really kind of far." Seth said, looking at Marissa, "We were thinking like Long Beach or something so we could all hang out."

"Well I got to stick around for a couple of days, find some work so I can get bus money."

"Well, I mean, we can get you money."

"Seth, I don't want your money."

"Well," Marissa shrugged, "I can lend you some money."

"I think both of you missed the 'me getting a job for a couple of days' part of the plan."

"Yeah well," Seth said simply, "I think you missed the point of getting to know rich people." To which Marissa laughed.

"That's sweet you guys, but seriously I can't take your money." I told him, before a woman put down our meals in front of each of us.

"Well, I mean, you know," Seth threw one of his chips in his mouth, "I guess in a way, you're kind of lucky. You get to move to a whole new place, start over, be whoever you want to be. That's really not so bad." I simply shrugged dipping a finger into his chilli.

"Do you just eat everyone's food?" Marissa laughed.

"Well," I pointed at her salad; "I'm not going to be eating yours today."

"What's wrong with my salad?" She asked.

"It's like healthy and crap." I said, picking up one of her cherry tomatoes and just dropping it back down.

"Yeah well its good to eat healthily," she said popping the tomato into her mouth, "and if it means you won't steal my food, well that's just an added bonus."

I opened my mouth to respond but I stopped when the door opened and a group of boys walked in making a lot of fuss and even more noise. I looked over my shoulder and saw Shell Necklace and his Beach Boys all laughing.

"Hey putz" Shell Necklace laughed at the bus boy, "what's it take to get a menu around here?" before sitting down at in a booth with his friends and making a lot of noise.

"Okay," Marissa sighed, "I'll handle it."

"No, no." I said, turning back towards her and Seth, "let me."

"What?" She raised her eyebrows at me, putting a hand on my shoulder to keep me in my seat, "So you can get your arse kicked again?"

"I didn't get my arse kicked," I told her simply, "he had the advantage."

"Which was?" she asked as she stood.

"Being taller and stronger and having at five friends all taller and stronger than me." I said quietly, folding my arms.

"This is why in most circles girls don't fight boys."

"I could take him." I pointed at her.

"Yeah if you were bigger and had grenades." Seth laughed.

"Why don't you guys just sneak out back?" She suggested before walking over to Shell Necklace and sliding into his booth with him and his friends.

"Why do you two keep flirting?" Seth whispered across the table at me.

"We're not flirting."

"Please it's so obvious you're into her."

"I'm not."

"Yeah?" he pointed at my face, "So why then is your face all red?"

"Seth," I hissed quietly at him, "will you please just shut up and get up."

I got up and headed out the back with Seth behind me. I had the fire exit handle in my hand when a waitress poked her head out of the kitchen and told us to use the front door. I sighed and flipped my hood up, covering what remained of my purple streak and headed back into the main bit of the dinner. I got to and out of the front door without being noticed. Seth however, managed to walk into a bus boy and sent his tray to the ground.

Shell Necklace turned and saw Seth, hurriedly trying to tidy up.

"Hi," he said sheepishly, "How you guys doing?" he waved at Shell Necklace and the Beach Boys. "You like the food here too? Pretty awesome."

"Shut up, queer." Shell Necklace told him before turning back.

"Well, at least I don't shave my chest." I heard Seth mutter, and so did Shell Necklace as he snapped his head back so he was glaring at Seth.

"What'd you say?" He asked, rising from his seat.

"Luke," Marissa pulled at his arm, "come on."

"I just say you look nice in a sweater vest." Seth fumbled with his words nervously, "It was a compliment."

"Do you want me to break you, Cohen?" He asked, free of Marissa and in Seth's face.

It was at this point that I walked back into the dinner and stepped between them. "Seth come on lets go."

"No way. Look who's back!" Shell Necklace laughed turning me round so he could look at me. "You know," he grabbed the sides of my hood and yanked it down, "you're a little far from Eight Mile, dyke!"

"Luke!" Marissa stood up and made her way to my side.

"What're you like spokesperson for 'Geeks of America' or something?" he asked her, clearly as confused as I was by her move.

"No," she said, her hands on her hips, "but I am a leading member of 'Homophobia died out in the 1990's'."

"Good one." I smiled at her.

"Thank you." She smiled back.

"Hold up! Are you joining her fold or something?" he frowned before turning to me, "You converted her to your perverse ways?"

"How come in porn it's erotic but in real life it's perverse?" I asked him.

"Cause in porn the girls end up give at least one guy head and then take it up the arse." Seth explained in my ear.

Marissa gave him a quizzical look and then simply shook her head: "I've not been converted, and its not perverse," she held up her hand to stop either me or Shell Necklace, I mean Luke, saying anything, "I just think its really shitty and pathetic how you're treating her." She paused before continuing, "I mean if she was black you wouldn't talk to her like that."

"If he did, his outfit would be totally wrong." I said gesturing up and down his body, "should be more of a white shee-"

"You're not helping." She told me. "And you," she pointed at Luke, "are going to leave Alex alone ore you can simply leave me alone." She folded her arms in front of her.

"Come on guys." Luke said deflated to his friends, "Lets go to the yacht club, seems they're serving any one here nowadays." He shot me one more glare before walking out the door quickly followed by the Beach Boys.

"Wow." I told her sitting back down and taking a bite out of my cold toasted sandwich.

"Yeah you've got Luke totally…" he made some sort of noise with his mouth accompanied by a hand action.

"What the hell was that?" Marissa asked him.

"Whipped." He said simply. "How was that not obvious?"

"Cause it sounded nothing like whipping." I told him. "Anyway, I am impressed," I turned to Marissa, "I had seen that going in a totally different direction."

"Yeah like you hitting Luke and then saying some quick whitted bit." Seth nodded at me.

"Yeah like asking 'Hey, you know what I like about rich kids?' bam! I hit him and then when he was on the floor I tell him 'Nothing!'"

"That would have been really lame though." Marissa said.

"Just as well you didn't hit him then." Seth laughed.


Marissa and Seth split the bill for our cold lunch and after discussing why exactly why Luke shaves his chest, we made our way back to the model home.

"So what kind of job you going to get?" Marissa asked as we walked closer to the house.

"I don't know," I shrugged, pushing my bike, "whatever I can get that doesn't involve joining the army."

"Well I'll have a look in the paper for you, when I get home."

"Cheers." I smiled at her, just as Seth headed back towards us on his board.

"Mom's car is out the front of the house."

"Well, what does that mean?" Marissa asked him.

"That Mom's in the house, maybe looking around. I don't know."

"Well why don't we simply go round the back of the house and check it out. I mean we need to know if I can sleep there tonight."

Seth simply shrugged before we headed back to the house, making sure that no one could see us when we passed any windows or spaces in the brickwork anyway.

"-I had my first kiss there." We heard a man say, as we passed one of the gaps. Seth motioned for us to stay there, so we leant against the wall and simply listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Me, too." Kirsten replied to the man. "So what's going on, Jimmy?" She asked after a pause.

"Uh ... well ... it's been a really bad year with the market and uh, well it's disastrous. And it's going to be a struggle just to remain solvent for the next-"

"How much do you need Jimmy?"

"It's, it's… it's a lot, it's a lot of money, too much."

"Jimmy."

"It's a hundred thousand dollars."

"I'll call the bank."

"No, I, I can't-" the man stuttered at her.

"I can."

"I, I, I'll pay you back. But it's gonna to take me a couple months."

"I know where you live." Kirsten laughed at him.

"This place is going to be perfect." He told her after a break in the conversation.

"I hope so. New contractors get here tomorrow. Better get the job finished" Kirsten told him.

We heard them start walking in the opposite direction and then eventually the sound of an SUV pulling away, leaving us still leaning against the wall just listening to silence.

"Who was the guy?" I asked eventually.

"My dad." Marissa said quietly.

"Oh."

"Yeah," she nodded.

"So the contractors start tomorrow." Seth said, clearly trying to break up the awkwardness.

"Guess that means I'm gone."


I spent the evening by myself, hugging my knees mainly. I had Marissa's CD playing as I thought about my options for what felt like the millionth time that month. I'd never had so much time to just sit and think. I'd thought about my life in jail, thought about what my life was going to be like when I waited for Sandy on that wall outside the 7-Eleven and now. Yet again I had no idea what was going to happen to me.

I blamed Trey for making me go with him that day. Yet, however much I focussed on hating him for ruining my life, for making it spiral out of all recognition and out of all control I had only one thought going through my head that I ultimately had chosen to get in that car.

I'd yet to decide whether my life would be better or worse since being kicked out of my home and having no where to go when Jeff Buckley started playing from the pink stereo I had in the corner of my 'room'.

"This song reminds me of you," Marissa smiled sitting next to me.

"Hey," I smiled back at her.

"You proud of me? I got all the way through the scary house without anyone to hold my hand."

"When did it get dark?" I asked looking round the room, for the first time realising why Marissa might find the building site scary.

"Bout an hour ago, didn't you notice?"

"I was caught up in thinking." I said slowly.

"About?"

"How my life got so very out of control."

"Yeah," Marissa looked around the room, stood up and started lighting candles, "I can see that."

"Anyway," I shook my head, "thought you'd be with Luke." I told her once she'd sat down next to me again.

"I'm meant to be a party, told Luke I wasn't feeling well." She told me quietly, "Figured you'd be more in need of my company."

"Thank you." I smiled at her.

"So, talk to me." I just laughed at her. "What?"

"That was pretty vague. What you want me to talk to you about?" I laid down slowly and placed my hands under my head, she mirrored my action next to me.

"Seems weird that we'll never see each other again after tonight."

"Yeah." I nodded staring up at the ceiling. "But hey," I turned to her and saw her watching me, "leave your address and I'll send you a postcard from every town I hit. Maybe if send you a sample of pancake." I smiled at her and she smiled back.

I turned and went back to staring at the ceiling, leaving us in a comfortable silence.

"I wouldn't eat them though," I said eventually, "might get sick."

She laughed, a genuinely happy laugh, and I looked back at her and realised that she made me happy just through the simple act of laughing.

Unfortunately I heard something. "Stop." I told her quickly, jumping up and heading to the window. I spotted Luke and his friends stepping out of Luke's truck, looking up at the house and the noise was confirmed.

"Uh Marissa," I waved her over.

"Bollocks." She said, looking out the window and watching the boys with me.

"He must have followed you."

"I left my car on the street, how would he know for it to be this house?" She asked looking down at them walking round the house.

"I don't know, maybe he's physic." I shrugged, "But you should go, he'll kill you if he finds you here."

"Yeah," she sighed, "I mean he already thinks you're turning me gay."

"Look, just go." I pointed out the door, "There are some back stairs, you should miss him and be able to deny ever being her and therefore save your relationship."

She quickly kissed me on the cheek and then grabbed her purse from where we were lying and ran out the room and into the darkness.

I waited for them to find me. I thought about hiding or running, basically doing anything that wouldn't result in me getting my arse kicked but I ended up simply sitting down and going back to hugging my knees.

"Where's my girlfriend?" Luke asked bursting into the room suddenly. I'd heard his urgent footsteps, along with his friends', on the unfinished stairs so his appearance came as no surprise.

I thought about making some sort of joke, doing some sarcastic bit but couldn't actually be bothered. So I simply shrugged. I didn't know. She could have still been in the house for all I knew.

"Hey," he leaned over me and pointed in my face.

I slapped his hand away. "Didn't your mother ever tell you its rude to point?"

"Didn't your mother ever tell you its unnatural to be a dyke?" He shot back at me, causing his friends to snigger behind him.

"And we're back to the homophobia?" I stood up, "Hey," I smiled at them, "you guys aren't all Republican are you?"

"Look just tell me where my girlfriend is and I'll leave you alone."

"I really doubt that." I sighed. "And like I shrugged at you before, I don't know where Marissa is."

"Well I know she was here with you."

I looked around the room, turned round even; "Well she's not here now." I told him once I was facing him again. "So…" I motioned with my hand for him to leave.

"Oh no we're not going anywhere." He said, arms folded in front of him. "We're going to make sure you know you're place in this town."

"Yeah? Cool." I nodded at him. "And after you kill me you going to go out looking for some Blacks, Jews and gypsies to lynch?"

"What's with this girl?" One of his friends asked him.

"What I don't get is why she's forever with my girlfriend?" Luke said back to him. "Is it some sort of Sugar Rush crush?"

"You know at the end of Sugar Rush the lesbian got the girl." I told him.

"So you're admitting it?" He growled, shoving me up against a wall.

"No," I told him, taking my eyes off him for the first time and looking at the candle I'd just tripped over, "merely explaining that your Sugar Rush analogy was, well," I shrugged, "stupid."

My mom always told me that my big mouth was going to get me into trouble. The other night at the beach after I'd got kicked in the stomach I thought about what she'd yelled at me when I was a kid. That night when I was up against the wall I wished I'd done more than just thought about her and actually listened.

His fist hit me so hard that my head was sent back into the wall, sending another wave of pain through my skull. I felt my lip and was un-surprised to find blood on my fingers as the copper taste rapidly filled my mouth. I spat as much as I could onto the ground next to him before taking a swing at him.

He stumbled slightly, however, the power of my punch was nothing compared to his as he simply shook his head, unfazed by my attempt to hurt him, and hit me again, grabbing my shoulders to stop me from falling and then kneeing me in the stomach. Then he let me fall.

I clutched at my stomach and bit my lip so not to show just how much pain he'd put me through. His friends pulled me up; to allow Luke to hit me more. My head felt so heavy, the pain in my body making it near impossible to concentrate.

"J-" but I wasn't even allowed to get a whole word out before Luke sent me to the floor again. My eyes were shut, if I couldn't see what was going on… Another fist hit me and another and another. I didn't have the strength to both fight and fend off the pain. The first blow to the back of my head had guaranteed an easy fight for Luke.

Then it all suddenly stopped. I heard urgent footsteps again only they were leaving rather than coming towards me. I opened my eyes slowly and with great difficulty, but then wished very much that I hadn't. The room that had been dark, lit only by a couple of candles was bright with flickering lights. Fire. The candle I'd knocked over when Luke sent me into the wall, its flame must have caught on something, cause…


I felt hands all over me, fumbling, trying to get hold or… then I was moving and then I was on the ground again.

I tried to push myself up, but found myself too heavy. I opened my eyes and watched that truck just speed off leaving me to…


I walked to the nearest street and stuck my thumb out. I was just walking. I had no idea where I was, which direction I was headed all I knew was that I had to get away from the fire if I wanted to stay out of jail.

The pain in my, well everywhere, told me I should go to a hospital but I very much doubted that Newport even had a County hospital let alone one that would even consider treating me without insurance.

So I just walked. My thumb out as cars passed me.

I don't know how long I'd been walking until a car finally stopped for me. I rubbed my eyes as the window wound down. The person I saw in the driver's seat had me convinced I was suffering from concussion.

"You're okay?"

"Define okay." I asked him, holding my head.

"Where you going?" Luke asked me.

"I don't know." I looked up and down the road I was on. "I don't even know where I am."

"We both keep our mouths shut." Luke pointed out the window, confirming what I'd first thought, he hadn't come back for me. "They may never know it was us." He finished.

"You." I corrected yanking open the passenger side door.

"What are you doing?" He asked as I, gingerly because of the pain I was in, stepped in beside him.

"You're giving me a ride." I told him leaning against the headrest.

"Where?" He sighed, but reluctantly pulled away from the sidewalk.

"Cohens'." I said quietly, shutting my eyes trying to block out the pain.

The drive drifted over me, I just focussed on suppressing the pain. I could think of nothing but the pain. Consequently when Luke stopped the car I was surprised to see the Cohen's house.

I slowly got out of the truck and walked towards the group of people between Marissa's and the Cohens' driveways.

"Alex!" Marissa ran up to me, "What happened?"

I saw her look over my shoulder towards Luke and then back at me. "Nothing." I told her quietly, grabbing at my side as I walked, with her hand around my waist supporting me, towards the adults.

"I'm sorry." I couldn't look at Sandy and Kirsten as I apologised to them, I was too ashamed. They had offered me the best I could achieve and I'd run away from it. The pain shooting through out my body told me that to rely on myself was stupid and that foster care was possibly not the worst thing ever. Except as I looked at the officer stood in amongst the adults I knew that I was never going to see that group home.

"Alex Attwood?" The cop asked. I just put my arms behind my back knowing full well what was about to happen. "We got some questions for you." The officer told me before I felt the cold steel across my wrists.

I looked over to Luke before the officer led me to the police car, holding my head as he went to push me into the back.

"It was an accident." I heard Luke say nervously.

"Yeah," the police officer nodded at him, "you were there?"

"Yeah." Luke swallowed hard, before nodding.

"Then we got some questions for you too."

I watched out of the car as another officer cuffed Luke and marched him to the car and into the seat beside me.

"Officer," Sandy called out before walking over to the car, "I'm Miss Attwoood's attorney. Please don't ask her any questions unless I'm present. Alex..." he ducked down so that he could see me in the car, "keep your mouth shut."

He said a similar thing to Luke, but I was passed caring. I was back to jail. Just like the rest of my family.

I watched out the back window as the car drove away. Marissa just looked away, her eyes glistening. I didn't know which one of us she was crying for. Kirsten simply turned and walked back into the house. Seth, Sandy, two adults who I assumed to be Marissa's parents and Marissa watched us as once again I was being driven away. Away from her and away from any hopes I had of a future.


R&R, thank you. Circus.