(This is sort of a series of flashbacks explaining how my original person (Phoenix Carter) met Dean Ambrose/Jonathon Good for the first time and their odd 'friendship' as kids, how it changes through the years and stuff. I've seen a few of these kinds of stories around, I got inspired earlier, thought I'd give my own version a try. I'd been trying not to submit anything for the guy, because there's already so many way better ones here on the site, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone.

Reviews are loved people. If this little series gets enough reviews, I might be talked into submitting a fic I've been sort of working on lately, which they're both older, and they meet again.:) Just saying.)

July 1992

(Dean – 7, Phoenix – 5)

He lie on his bed, hands on his ears, trying to block out the sound of his mom and another one of her 'boyfriends' going at it in the next room. She'd locked him in here because she claimed that he was 'bad for business' and he needed to stay out of sight.

He heard Green Day, or a really shitty cover of Basket Case, rather, being played in that little blonde girl's apartment about the same time something was tossed through his open window and he heard a smallish thud accompanied by giggling, and her standing, shaking off the rain like a dog would.

"What the hell are ya doin in here?" he asked, looking at her with a raised brow as she shrugged and said "Too noisy."

"Yeah, well it's not any better over here."

"Wanna come down and watch me skate?"

"It's rainin."

"So? I plays in the rain all the time while my mommy at work. I can do anything I wanna as long as I stay out of my stupid big brother Joey's hair, he said." the pixie like blonde said as she looked at him, giving him this sort of commanding pout as she did so.

Again, like a few nights ago, he got the feeling that he either gave in, or he scared her off.. And he didn't really have any friends to play with, they all kept getting scared of him, or their moms wouldn't let them come over, because of his mom. Or they just liked to pick on him.

"Fine. But I better not get in any trouble cause I did." he asserted as he slid out the window behind her, followed her down the fire escape and sat watching her skate for a little while, wondering why of all people, she kept insisting she had to hang around him.

She wasn't his age, she was practically a baby if you really thought about it. Even if she was really bossy and acted at least 4 years older than both of them.

She zipped over and wiped out on the board, making him laugh. When she stood, growling, eyeing her makeshift ramp with an angry determined look on her face, he really doubled over. It felt good to laugh.

Even if she were annoying sometimes, at least she made him laugh a little bit. But when school started, he wondered if she'd keep doing this or if she'd make friends who weren't as 'bad' or 'weird' as him.

And they liked the same things.. But what were kids in his own grade going to say about his having a friend, and one who was at least two grades behind him?

He winced as he watched her take on the makeshift ramp, fall down again, tearing her too big baggy jeans.

"I gives up. Stupit brother. I told him to make it sturdier."

"He built that?"

The little girl nodded excitedly then said "He build stuff all the time. Where my daddy is, he built us a treehouse last summer."

"How old is he?"

"He 19." Olivia said as she bit her lip and then said quietly, "I'm scared of his friends."

"Why?"

Olivia shrugged and sat quietly, holding a kleenex on her knee, every now and then blowing on it. "Mommy gonna be mad. I ripped two pairs of jeans this week skatin." she muttered as she looked at the boy she was trying to befriend, leaning against him.

"Wanna go watch fireworks with me tonight? My brother said he take us." Olivia asked, pleading with her eyes. Her brother was doing this, of course, because their mother had met some guy who worked at the hospital she worked at, and Joey, well..

He didn't like the guy for some reason. So if their mom brought the guy home, like she had been more lately, he'd take Olivia to the park, or out skating (he called it tagging, he liked to spraypaint the sides of run down buildings) or to a movie, or anywhere that the man wasn't at.

And he didn't like Ms. Good, either. Said that her 'little boyfriend' deserved better than the shit he had to live in.

So he'd offered to take Olivia and of course her new friend places while their own mom worked double even triple shifts at the hospital or the guy was over.

Jon sat quietly, thinking it over. His ma wouldn't even know he was gone, really, she'd either be drunk or high, or entertaining one of the many men who were in and out of the apartment. It's not like any of the other kids could or wanted to play with him, even.

And she had bandaged him up a few nights ago.

"Okay."

"Good."

He looked at her a few moments then took the kleenex and pressed it against her knee as he said calmly, "Ya weren't holdin it hard enough."

Olivia blushed a little and then nodded, leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He blinked, confused. Why in the hell had she just done that?

"Why are ya bein nice to me?"

And as usual, when he asked her that, he got a shrug as an answer, as if maybe she didn't even really know the answer to his question.

The rest of the day sort of flew by, really, they snuck down to the park and hung upside down from the monkey bars, tried to play catch (olivia wasn't good at baseball at all), and then around 4, an older boy walked over to them on the playground, and smirking said "You guys ready?"

"Joey, this Jon. Jon, this Joey." Olivia said as she looked from her brother to her 'crush' and back again, smiling brightly. "He like watching fights on tv too." she told Joey excitedly, and Joey smirked as he asked, "That true, kid?"

Jon nodded quietly. He wasn't sure about talking to older kids, they usually wanted to pick on him or beat him up or something. But Joey seemed okay..

"Cool. Show comes to Ohio sometimes. I'm gonna do that shit one day, actually." Joey said as he lead the two kids down the street to the area where they were doing the fireworks show and said "Best seat is under the tree.. It's where ma and dad used to sit with me when we lived here the first time, Ollie." as he spread out a tarp, flopped down on it carelessly.

He almost felt bad for the kid his baby sister bought with her. Every time he thought of what that kid's mother put him through, it made him sick. And he'd been her, sneaking down the hallway a few nights ago, arms full of bandages, neosporin, peroxide, cookies and two sodas. When he asked about it, of course, Ollie came clean and told him she'd gotten the boy next door away from his mommy for a while.

Then again, his baby sister, she was always trying to take care of something. There'd been a kitten once, in the alley. Despite allergies, she hid the damn thing in her room, in a Vans shoe box, fed it and kept water or milk for it.

The three of them sat watching fireworks quietly.

For a little while, Jon actually felt sort of normal. But the dread of his going back home was there, as always, in the back of his mind.

All too soon, it was time for him to sneak back in his window. As usual, she followed him up the ladder, and made sure he got inside without being caught. Tonight though, she hugged him and then said calmly, "I have fun with you." before turning and sliding down the latter in a hurry, going into her own room next door.

He flopped onto his bed, shoved his head under the pillow and smiled a little. But he still wasn't sure how things would go when they were both in school again in the fall.. What if she made friends and then realized how bad and how weird he was?