A/N:

So I've finished one of my other fics so I have more time to look at this one. This chapters a little slow to start with, but I promise it'll pick up near the end! Enjoy everybody!

We'd fallen into a routine, and that's the way I liked it. It's what was best for keeping control. We'd wake up and while Flynn dressed, I would get Poppy ready. Ready myself while they ate breakfast, drive them to school and then head home for breakfast of my own. By nine-thirty in the morning, I'd have most of the laundry done, the house vacuumed and another paragraph of my term paper typed up and proof read. Then, work at ten. It was a simple job working in a hotel as a concierge and it paid well enough, so that was that until three. I'd pick up my siblings from school and then while they did homework or watched TV, another part of my paper was done and then it was time for food. They were in bed by nine-thirty. Some may say it was tough and boring and even too strict, but I liked that. It was the same thing everyday. No surprises. No confusion. No chance of anything going wrong. That's what they needed, security. And damn it, I was going to give it to them. The fact that it was recommended by my old therapist and also gave me some peace of mind was only a small contributing factor…

Today however, something just felt off. I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something not right. Throughout the whole day, there was a burning sensation at the back of my neck, giving me shivers. It was the kind of feeling that I got when someone was watching me. I knew that feeling pretty well, I felt it everyday when I pick up Poppy and Flynn from school. All of those teachers and parents giving me judgmental looks and glances of sympathy, I didn't care really, and it was their own right to think what they wanted… But today, I was alone and it was still there… For the most part, I ignored it. But it wasn't easy, it was getting worse, especially by the time I had gotten Flynn and Poppy from school.

"Hey, good day or bad?" I asked, giving Poppy a hug.

It was amazing how much she looked like me. It wasn't hard to tell we were related. We both had the same waved auburn hair and cloudy blue eyes. But she had more of a winning smile, which she was presenting right now.

"Great! I made new friends today!"

I was about to question her more, but was interrupted by Flynn as he slumped over to us and looked over his shoulder towards his friends, "Can we go now?"

He shared our eyes too, but his hair was a wild mop of brown hair and across his nose was a pattern of freckles.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Nothing, just, you know, don't wanna hang around."

I smirked at him playfully and swooped down for a hug, "Awe, someone had a bad day?"

He grimaced and tried to push me away, "Ugh! Girl Germs!"

"Not just girl germs," I warned, "Sister Germs, and they're the most deadly!"

He managed to crack a smile, making Poppy giggle along with me. Okay, I'd embarrassed him enough for one day! I led them outside into the car-park and strapped Poppy into the booster seat before making our way home. Again, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. It was really starting to get to me. As soon as we were inside, I went into the kitchen while Flynn and Poppy went to put their school bags away. I rummaged in the cupboards and found what I was looking for. My meds. I hadn't felt the need to use them in over four years but… I shook myself mentally and replaced them. No. I refused to become dependant on them again. Point blank refused.

Besides, it was Friday and I had to get my charges ready. Flynn was sleeping over a friends' tonight and Poppy had a birthday party where she was also sleeping over. I couldn't really afford to waste time. It was a nightmare to pack Poppy's bag. She wanted to cram everything but the kitchen sink into a small pink rucksack. Flynn was much easier, he could handle himself, he always could. Before long we were pilling back into the car and heading off. More looks of sympathy from the parents, the usual 'oh if you ever need us' thing, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah… Don't get me wrong, I appreciated it, but I didn't need their pity! I'd managed so far without hem, did I? They could keep their pity and stuff it up their –

"Have a nice time, I'll pick you up tomorrow afternoon!" I called over my shoulder.

"Bye!" Poppy called form the doorway before turning to her friends, "Open your present, it's really faboo!"

I froze. That triggered an unwanted memory and made my skin crawl. I leant out of the window and called back, "Hey, uh, where did you hear that?"

Poppy shrugged, "In school."

"Oh… okay then…" I swallowed, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Trying to seem normal and not like I was about to have a mental breakdown, I drove off and chose to drive home with the windows down to let the air clear my head. I was reading too much into this. It had been a long week and as for that little comment, phrases went around schools all the time! It was just a coincidence! I remembered being in school and everyone randomly started saying 'freaking' for any positive thing. I cringed, 'That project was freaking!' was not a cool thing to come out of my mouth at eleven years old… So, it was just a coincidence, nothing to read into. Just calm down Talia, don't slip up again…

I found myself locking the front door and rushing up to my room to throw myself on my bed. The pillow was pulled over my eyes and I groaned in irritation with myself. I was just being stupid, and in my position I couldn't afford to be stupid. I curled up and clenched my eyes shut. Slowly, the comfort of sleep started to take me away.

"You sure that this is the place?" a girlish voice.

"Must be, after so long this is one of the last places to look." A snarky male voice replied.

"I'm hungry!" said a third voice with a British twang, Liverpool I think, "Can't we stop for a snack first?"

"That's our little garbage disposal!"

"Go fig…"

My eyes snapped open and I shot upright. My heart was hammering against my chest. Someone was in the house, I could hear them moving around. How long had they been in here? Did they know I was here? Should I call the police? I'd never had a break in before and really didn't know what to do! Well, the kids were out of the house, that's one thing. Oh no what happened if something happened to me? Where would they go? I slowly edged my way out onto the catwalk at the top of the stairs and peered over the edge. There were shadows moving along the walls, but I couldn't make out much. From what I could hear, there were three of them. Three against one, I thought in panic, this wasn't going to end well. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Flynn's bedroom open and his baseball bat just inside. I stepped softly along and wrapped my fingers around it, getting used to the weight of it before gripping my other hand around it and lifting it over my head in preparation. Struggling for breath, I started to make my way down the stairs. I just prayed I wasn't going to throw up along the way.

"I'm warning you!" I called out, sounding braver than I felt, "I've called the police!"

Damn it, I should have done that before giving myself away! I wasn't thinking straight and panic was taking over big time! As I reached the bottom step, the bat was raised high and my knuckles were turning white from the way I was strangling it so tightly.

"Come out!" I snapped, "I'm armed!"

"Hey, so are we!"

I shrieked and span on the spot to see three figures standing before me, waving their arms as if to prove the point they had just made. My pupils dilated at the sight of them. They were animalistic, covered in black fuzz apart from their faces and pawed feet which were white. Little red noses twitched with excitement along with their tails and ears. But they also seemed a little humanoid, standing upright and clothed. The tallest wore baggy brown pants held up past his waist with a black belt. The second was wearing a light blue turtle-neck and a backwards red cap, grinning with a tongue poking over his lips. The third was the only girl, her ears pulled together with a flowered band and wearing a pink skirt. My throat dried instantly as all my memories came flooding back to me.. My hands started shaking in horror and by the time I'd taken in their appearance, they'd lunged towards me and trapped me in a loud kiss. The smaller two on either cheek while the tallest on my forehead. With a grin, they jumped back and bowed.

"Hellooooo Nurse!" they chanted, then took notice of my weapon and dived to the side as I swung it down on them, "Goodbye Nurse!"

They ducked and dived out of my way, laughing like it was all a game. However, my cheeks were flaming with effort and I felt like my head was going to implode on itself. Oh I was loosing it big time! There was no way this was happening again! No, it wasn't real! None of this was real! I didn't go through all of this crap just to fall back into this again! It wasn't real!"

"Batter up!" the tallest cried, pulling out a bat of his own.

The smaller male adjusted his cap for precision and pulled out a ball from the collar of his jumper and threw it. The first boy hit it forcefully, making me duck as it headed right for me. The girl cheered, waving a pair of pompoms in the air.

"Outta the park!" she cheered.

I readjusted my bat and glared at them, "Stop it! Just stop it!"

They eyed me carefully before resuming their smirked, the tallest one winked, "You stop it."

"No." I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, "No, you're not doing this to me again."

With that, I gave in and lowered the bat, taking a breath and making my way back up the stairs to return it to Flynn's room, leaving them with confused expressions. Yeah, it was a strange reaction, but I figured, they're not real; it's all in my head. If I just take notice of that and then ignore them, they'd go away. They're part of my psyche, so if I don't take notice of them, my mind can't focus on them, and then they will vanish. Simple. However, they were waiting for me at the top of the stairs having moved at incredible pace. The taller one held out a hand for a handshake.

"Uuuuuuhhhhhh -Considering that one-of-a-kind reaction, here's a one-of-a-kind introduction!"

I held up a hand to cut him off, "I don't need an introduction. I've heard it before and would rather not hear it again."

Of course I knew them, it had taken over ten years to try and forget them. Clearly, money well spent, note my sarcasm. The friends I'd tried to tell people about, the ones who saved me from an accident that never happened. My brain could try and let them introduce themselves to me, but I wasn't having it. There was no Yakko. There was no Wakko. And there was no Dot. They weren't real!

Wakko eyed me as I brushed past them, "How'd you know us? We haven't met… have we?"

Accidently, my face flushed with anger. What? So now my own imaginings couldn't be bothered to remember me? Great, I was even more messed up. Nevertheless, I ignored it.

"Hey Sibs," Yakko grinned, "This must be the right place, Talia must have told her all about us!"

Dot fanned herself with her hand, "Oh I can see the fan club rising! No autographs please!"

"Talia?" I turned to glare at them, "Talia?"

"Yeah!" Wakko nodded, "We were stuck in a hole last we saw her!"

Yakko blew a kiss with his hand, "Mwah! Goodnight everybody!"

Dot picked up a picture from the mantelpiece and held it up. It was a picture of the three of us, me, Flynn and Poppy, Dot pointed at Poppy, "You seen her or what?"

Yakko pulled a telescope from his pocket and scanned the room with it, "Where is the little kiddo?"

They thought Poppy was me? I knew we looked alike, but she was two years younger than I was when I first met them. Kiddo… No one had called me that in ten years. Wait, if they were part of my head, then they should recognise me, shouldn't they? They should take note that I'd aged, right? But then again, they looked like they hadn't aged a day… But then again, they were in my head, of course they weren't going to change! I collected myself and tried to keep a determined face.

"Wh-what do you want with… her? Why've you been looking for her?"

Yakko shrugged and retracted his telescope, "Last we saw she was lost, we figured that she could hang with us." To prove his point, he hopped onto the stair rain and hung upside down, "We figured it was hide and seek, she was hidden by the guard and we're seeking her."

"She saved our buts, you know!" Wakko added, swaying on his feet.

My hands clenched into fists, "Well, you're too late. Ten years too late. She doesn't want to see you again and would like for you to leave!"

Dot glared at me just as I turned to leave, "And how do you know what she wants? What are you, her prison-warden?"

I stopped and turned back to look at them, hands on my hips and eyes cold, "Because I'm Talia!"

They paused and looked at me closely, seemingly shocked with my sudden ten year age added to me. Dot's eyes brightened and tried to relate me back to the small child I used to be, Wakko's jaw literally hit the floor, his tongue rolling onto the carpet. Yakko traced his eyes over me and leant casually against the wall, folding his arms and wriggling his eyebrows at me.

"Well, helloooo kiddo!" he smirked.

A/N:

So, how's it going so far? Just to say, this will NOT end up like that crappy 'Drop Dead Fred' movie cuz that sucks like hell!

I know this one was a little slow, but I just wanted to get a few insights into the life Talia has now. More questions will be answered in the next chapter which will be up soon. Please review, and if anyone has any creative criticism that will make this better, then please say. Thanks XD