Their hoods hadn't come off until a couple hours into the ride and even then they were careful about who saw them. Two teenagers with almost fresh injuries on their faces weren't something they really wanted to draw attention to at this point in their journey. Keith stared out the window at the passing trees, looking over his sister's head which was resting on his side. His right arm was around her, his fingers absently toying with the folds of the hoodie she had taken off and placed over herself as a blanket.

Keith hadn't thought much yet about what they were going to do when they arrived at the city – he knew they had both been focused on just getting out of their hometown. Now that that hurdle was hopefully cleared, they could move on to other matters.

He knew that as long as they had each other, things would be alright. He felt complete with Jane around. Safe. Strong. He knew she felt similarly. They were all they had at this point – each other.

She stirred against him and pushed away from him towards the window, her back releasing an audible crack. Keith removed his arm from around her and watched as she snuggled back against her seat, settling under her makeshift blanket once more.

"Our names."

"Hnngh?" Jane forced a questionable grunt to her brother's sudden outburst.

"We need to change our names. If we're worried they're gonna come look for us… they're looking for Keith and Jane, right?"

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with one of the arms of her hoodie and squinted momentarily before widening her gaze at him. It was true, if anyone bothered to come look for the two of them, those were the exact names they'd be asking about.

"But… Mom's parents."

"I know. Keith and Jane." He looked past her, to the line of passing trees again. Breaks in the trees where they were replaced by buildings kept showing up as he watched the scenery. They were getting closer to the city. "I mean, we might be able to keep them somewhat but…" He trailed off, unsure of where to go.

"Rrrrrr." Jane made another unintelligible noise and sunk in her seat.

He continued to stare past her, his eyes glazing over. He wasn't sure how long had passed before his sister murmured.

"Kerith."

"Huh?"

"Kerith. You can be Kerith."

"You just added an R to my name."

He watched his sister shrug and turn back towards the window. When he was sure she didn't have her eyes on him anymore, he silently mouthed the name a few times. It rolled off of his tongue in a surprisingly comfortable way.

"So does that make you… Janer?"

Keith heard his sister snort, which trailed into a weak giggle. He found himself chuckling with her and felt a slight weight lift off of his shoulders. At least they were laughing, even if it was only a bit.

"No." Looking away from the window, Jane turned back to him, her mouth working around sounds she wasn't making. A small laugh preceded her next word. "Jarne?"

They both chuckled again. Jarne was completely awkward but Keith found himself turning it over and over in his head. Jarn. Jarne.

"Jaryn."

"Jaryn?" She repeated back to him.

"With a Y." He shifted back and forth in his seat, putting his hands up as if he were an action star about to perform some wicked karate chop. "It'll look cooler that way when you write your name."

Jane grinned, reaching out and pushing his hands down.

"So?" He leaned closer to her and peered out the window, looking ahead down the road as he asked her about the name. "Is that a yes?"

"Is Kerith a yes?"

"I like it."

"Then Jaryn's a yes too."

Keith motioned to his sister with a tilt of his head towards the window. When she looked out of it, he could hear her gasp slightly. The city was on the horizon, the sun hitting the tall buildings and reflecting off of the windows in a brilliant orange hue.

His eyes moved from the skyscrapers to Jane, his heart sinking slightly at the prospect of their name changes. He knew it would take awhile to go from Janey to Jaryn, but he knew his sister and he knew she would always respond to Janey if it managed to slip from his lips.

Jaryn. Kerith. Jaryn and Kerith. Kerith and Jaryn.

The first thing they did after getting off of the bus was check a map posted outside of the station. According to said map, there was a motel about three blocks away from where they stood. They knew they wouldn't be able to stay in a motel forever, but they figured it was a good way to get their bearings for a night or two, at least.

Pinecrest Inn was cheap and definitely looked it from the outside, nestled in between two office buildings near the Takamoto Plaza stop of the city's subway system.

As they passed the underground entrance to the subway, Jane grabbed her brother and pointed to it, commenting on how they would need to ride it. Neither of them had been on, let alone seen, a subway system in person. Keith smiled and pulled her into the lobby of the Pinecrest Inn.

A round man with a greasy beard and a head of salt and pepper hair stared at them. "Room?"

"Please," Keith responded, letting go of his sister and shifting to the desk with a sudden air of maturity.

"Two people?" He waved a hand to Jane. "You and your… girlfriend."

Jane turned from where she had been looking out the window to the front desk, sporting a pair of wide eyes that matched her brother's.

"That's my twin sister."

He grunted. "Couldn't tell with all that hair hanging in front of yer faces." The man began punching things into an ancient computer system in front of him.

"Name?"

"Kerith," he responded instantly.

The man waited, staring at the blonde with an expression of boredom on his face. "Last name?"

Keith froze. Last name. Why didn't they think of a last name? He sure couldn't give him their real last name. The motel was close to the bus station, it could be one of the first places hit is anyone was searching for them. He inhaled deeply, preparing to drop the first thing that came to mind when a voice cut him off. It was Jane.

"Robus. That's Kerith Robus. I'm Jaryn."

"Weird names."

"Yes, original names." Jane stepped up to the counter and eyed the man's nametag that sat crooked on his faded plaid shirt. "Bob."

Once they were checked in and wandering down the hall towards their room, Keith tossed a glance behind him before peering sideways to his sister. "Robus?"

"It means strength in Latin... or something." She hoisted her bag further on her shoulder, fingering the room key in her hand. "See, I learned something in school."

Keith could feel a grin spread across his face. "Good choice, Jan—Jaryn."

Their room was small and dimly lit, even with the two lamps switched on. The color scheme was a dirty beige and blue and dustier than they expected a motel room to be. It looked like no one had stayed in that particular room for months. A twin size bed sat with a busted headboard against one wall, a small table beside it and a couch across from it. The couch looked old and used.

He sat down on it, placing his bag next to him. His backside sunk into it. And sunk. And sunk.

"Well, then."

Jane smiled thinly at him, not surprised at the fact that she sunk into the mattress of the bed for a few long moments. The furniture was visibly very old.

"Are you sure you don't want the bed?"

"No, I'll be fine."

"Since you're taking that one for the team," Jane started, jabbing a thumb towards the small chamber near the front door of their room, "you can take the first shower."

"Oh my god, you don't have to tell me twice." Keith was already up from the couch (which proved to be a feat in itself), tearing the hoodie and his shirt off over his head. He dropped them to the worn carpet and ran into the bathroom, vanishing from Jane's view. She heard the water start and stared across from where she sat to the couch. She knew Keith took showers religiously. One every night. He missed the previous night and they both smelled like the bus ride, hair dye and sweat.

She stood from the foot of the bed and reached over to pick his bag up, carrying it to the bathroom and stepping past the door he left open. His clothes had been discarded on the ground and he was already in the shower. She could see his silhouette behind the curtain, scrubbing furiously at his arms with the provided and tiny bar of soap.

"Brought your clothes," she dropped the bag on the closed lid of the toilet and heard his thanks somewhere in the back of her mind. She had been distracted by the sight of herself in the large bathroom mirror.

Slowly unzipping her hoodie, she turned her head from left to right, her eyes rolling over the bruises on her neck. Her hair didn't cover them anymore.

With a deep inhale, Jane quickly moved out of the bathroom, away from the mirror and fell back onto the bed, curling up with her head on the flat pillows. She shut her eyes tight and pulled her knees up to her chest. They were in the city now. She could go to the window and see the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle on the street below. But she felt like nothing was fixed. Her neck hurt. They had a finite amount of money. The motel creeped her out and she was sure someone would be on their tail concerning their father sooner or later.

When Keith emerged from the bathroom in a simple pair of black pants and a white t-shirt, rubbing a towel over his wet hair, he stopped where the room opened up.

His sister was in a fetal position on the bed with her eyes shut. He couldn't tell if she was asleep or just lost in her thoughts but he knew he had to get her out of the room either way. They were in the city now. It was time to get their minds out of the past.

Crawling onto the bed, he collapsed in front of her and began poking her cheek repeatedly like he did when they were younger and she was playing with a toy he wanted a turn with.

"Janey." Poke. "Janey." Poke. "Janey."

"Mmm."

"What's wrong? Come on. Go get a shower and we can go explore. Get something to eat. Ride the subway. Do something."

She didn't move.

Keith hesitated for a few moments and when he realized she wasn't moving, he slid out of the bed and wrapped his hands around her ankles, pulling her from her curled up state. "I will drag you off of this bed and throw you in the bathtub if I have to."

Jane weakly kicked her feet from his grasp and rolled off of the bed, finally removing her hoodie all the way. "Fine."

His eyes followed her as she dug through her bag and pulled out clothes and continued to trail her as she shifted listlessly towards the bathroom. Keith followed her. He could tell something was wrong with her. He knew she was thinking about the place they had left behind. They were supposed to leave it behind forever.

He stood in the doorway of the bathroom and watched her at the sink. She was studying her bruises again, leaning over the sink to get a closer look. As she did that, Keith caught a flash of black and blue where her shirt rode up her back.

"Janey."

"Hmm?"

Leaning forward, he took two fingers and placed them on her skin at the small of her back. "What's this?"

He could see her flinch visibly in the mirror at his touch.

Keith's mind was a sudden jumble of rage and confusion, but he didn't show it on his face. He calmly stared at her reflection in the mirror ahead of them. She stared back at him, her breathing getting heavier.

"Gregory," she finally said.

"When?"

"A couple days ago."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Keith suddenly wanted to get back on the bus, take it back to their hometown, find that bastard and shove his head in one of the grimy toilets at the roller rink. Over and over again. Perhaps pushing him too hard against the faded and cracked porcelain.

"It was nothing. I was fine. Everything was fine."

"What did he do?"

"It was the sink. He…" She looked down at the sink ahead of them. It was almost on the same level as the one in the bathroom at the roller rink. "…pushed me back against it and tried to… I kicked him in the shin with my skate and left."

"You didn't tell anyone?"

"Who was I supposed to tell? No one could do anything. No one cared."

"What about your brother? You don't think he cared?"

Jane didn't respond. Keith removed his fingers from the small of her back and lifted her shirt up a few inches. The bruise spread upwards and looked as if it was yellowing around the edges. He released a sigh that hit her neck and caused her to look back up to his reflection in the mirror.

"Get cleaned up. We'll go get dinner."

"I'm sorry," she blurted.

"For what?" He stopped at the door to turn and look back at her.

"For not telling you."

"Janey, we only have each other. You know I'm here for you. I figure it's the same the other way around. That's what siblings do, you know? We have to look out for each other, keep each other safe."

She nodded.

He motioned to the shower. "Now clean yourself up, Jaryn."

"Will do, Kerith."

He shut the bathroom door behind him and wandered over to the window of their motel room. The people below moved about, tending to their business and living their own lives. He knew that they would have to fall into that routine if they wanted to stay here, and they would. But Keith – Kerith – he couldn't keep his mind from racing back to that hellhole and finding Gregory. He couldn't keep his mind from picturing himself taking Gregory's face and smashing it into the same sink that he shoved Jane into.

In an attempt to erase the thoughts from his head, he sat himself on the sinking couch and began to put on a pair of his old, ratty boots. It was time to find something to eat. They were in the city. There had to be hundreds of restaurants out there. Hundreds of activities to take part in.

Hundreds of ways to form a new beginning.