Family Ties

Chapter One: Suffocatingly Family

Nicky's was their normal hang out, they would go there every weekend, and sometimes during the week too. Yes, that does sound boring, and truthfully it could be. It was so easy to lose oneself in the monotony of going to the same place all the time, where everyone did indeed know your name. For Pelia Parry it was a means to an end. She liked spending time with her brother and her best friends, and they liked spending time in Nicky's. It was that simple. She did wish that they would choose somewhere new to hang out, even if it was only for one night.

"Hey, Earth to Pel," said Reid, as he waved his hand in front of his friend's face, trying to gain her attention, "can you pay attention?" Pelia shook her head, just realizing that Reid was talking to her.

"Oh, hey Reid!" she said as if it were the first time she had seen him all night. "Uh, Pel, we came here in the same car," he said, giving her an odd look, "what's up with you? You're even more spacey than usual." Pelia inwardly grimaced at how well Reid could read her, but put a smile on her face.

"No more than usual, Mr. Garwin, now, how about a game of balls and sticks," she laughed. Reid smirked as he motioned for her to lead the way. Normally it took a lot of coaxing for Reid to get Pelia to play pool with him, but Pelia wanted to distract him from her somberness, so she decided to concede without putting up a fight. She hated playing pool not because it wasn't fun, she was actually pretty good, but because she always ran in to Aaron. Whether her brothers liked it or not, she had a history with Aaron. Her and Aaron had been best friends all through elementary and part way through middle school. But it all came to a screeching halt one day in 7th grade, when Aaron had come to her at lunch, to their normal spot, and told her that he never wanted to speak to her ever again, and that they couldn't be friends. Pelia was devastated, to say the least. He wouldn't give her an explanation, and the anger she felt in his voice, and in the look that he had given makes her wince even to this day. She still didn't understand what she had done all those years ago to make him hate her as much as he most obviously did. She feels that is why he is so antagonistic towards her brothers, because of whatever she had done in the past.

Pelia tried to focus on the game of pool, but Aaron was at the next table with his lackeys looking as stoic as usual. She had tried a couple of times over the years to talk to him, to get some sort of answer out of him, but he acted like being in her presence was disgusting, and he couldn't get away from her fast enough. The memories always brought tears to her eyes. As Reid made his shot Pelia let her eyes fall on Aaron. It was like she couldn't look away, no matter how painful it was, she just couldn't. As if he could sense her watching him, Aaron looked up after making his shot, and their eyes met for a fleeting second, making her heart feel like it was going to beat through her chest. She dared to think maybe she saw regret or guilt in his eyes, but she chalked it up to mere wishful thinking.

"Hey, don't go down that path, missy, you just focus on your pal Garwin, and forget about that Weasel," said Reid, as he caught her staring at her old friend. Pelia's attention came back to rest on Reid, and she smiled a sad smile. The boys always made sure that she was staying far away from Aaron, one because they absolutely hated him and felt he was a grade A Douche, and two because it always made her sad.

"Is it my shot already?" she asked in a soft voice. Reid nodded in response, and sent a glare Aaron's way. It was all that jerk's fault. His Pelia was never fully happy because of how he had treated her in middle school. That was the main reason why Reid loved messing with him so much. And that floppy haired kid definitely had a temper. Reid leaned against his pool cue, as he watched his friend make her shot. He would never understand why she cared about Abbot so much, especially after what he had done to her. Sometimes he just wanted to shake her, to get her to wake up and realize that she needs to get on with her life, and stick with her real friends. Was that so hard for her to do? Was he not enough? Reid shook his head, trying to make those serious thoughts disappear as he leaned forward to take his shot. He sighed as his ball went in to the corner pocket. He wasn't so in to the game anymore.

The night went on slowly for Pelia, she just wanted to get out of there, and go home where she didn't have to worry about seeing Aaron out of the corner of her eyes at every turn. She sighed as she stole her brother's fry, pretending to listen to their mundane conversation. She hated when she was like this, all sad and melancholy, but sometimes she couldn't help it. Reid always tried to bring her out of her moods, but she noticed tonight that he was in a mood of his own. She snuck a glance at her best friend, to see that he was looking at her with a disappointed look on his face. She tried to smile at him but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Don't bother, Pel," he said quietly just for her to hear, shaking his head as he turned back to his friends conversation. Pelia looked down at her hands, knowing why he was mad. He was probably tired of always looking after her whenever she was like this, always trying to make her really smile. She was tired of it too, and wished that she could let go. She was so afraid that Reid was going to stop being her friend just like Aaron that she couldn't stop them, the tears that sprang to her eyes. She never cried in front of her brother or her friends so she quickly got up from the table and went for the door. She mumbled that she was going to get some air, and her brother merely nodded, going back to his pals. Pel secretly thanked the stars that sometimes her brother wasn't that attentive to her, it came in handy when you just wanted to be alone.

As she opened the door to Nicky's she welcomed the cold autumn air that assaulted her. She breathed in deeply, trying to fight the tears that seemed inevitable as she made her way around the corner in case one of the guys decided to get some air with her. She leaned against the wall, and shut her eyes tight as the first tear fell down her cheek. Pel mentally told herself that she needed to be stronger if she was ever going to be normal, to have a life. She couldn't cry at every tough situation in her life, it was just pathetic. Especially because she knew that even though she knew her brothers loved her, they were such a tight knit group, she could barely fit with them. She wouldn't always be with them, she knew that, she knew that they had much bigger things to worry about than her. Pel angrily wiped at the tears that were falling down her now pink cheeks.

"Well, hello there," said a male voice from her left, making her jump, startled. She quickly opened her eyes to see a guy, about her age leering at her with hooded eyes.

"Um, hi," she said, feeling a little threatened by the way that he was looking at her. He stepped a little closer to her, with a smile.

"You're Pelia Parry, aren't you?" he asked simply. Pelia nodded, eyeing him strangely.

"Why do you ask?" she asked, looking around her for ways to get away in case she needed to. One thing she learned about the last year was to always be aware of your surroundings and your escape routes.

"Oh, because I've been sent here to kill you," he said as he pulled a knife from his coat. Pelia's eyes went wide in shock, as she froze to the wall. The guy walked closer to her, closing the distance between them, and went to stab her. But her fight or flight finally kicked in and she used her hand to block the attack, as she moved to the side away from him, and ran as fast as she could. Her hand felt like it was on fire, as she felt hot liquid flow down her fingertips, knowing it was her own blood. She ran around the corner to the back of the bar, looking around for any type of weapon she could use against her attacker. All she saw were glass bottles, so she grabbed one and hid right at the corner. As soon as he turned the corner she hit him over the head with the bottle, glass shattering everywhere. Unfortunately this only served to make him mad, where it should have knocked him out, and Pelia's breath quickened in her chest. She saw the blood flow down his forehead, but he hadn't even grimaced, what the hell was this guy? She backed away from him not sure of her next move when she felt movement behind her, a rush of air flow by her face. Then suddenly she felt an arm push her, and she was standing behind Aaron. She heard a growl emit from him, a low growl as if from an animal.

"This is between me and the Parry girl, stay out of it," said the attacker, who didn't seem threatened by the appearance of another person. Aaron made no sound as he suddenly lunged at the guy, only to land on the ground, the attacker vanishing in to thin air. Pelia let out the breath she hadn't known she had been holding, as she dropped to her knees. She held her hurt hand to her chest, as her breathing came fast and hard.

"Pel?" asked Aaron tentatively as he knelt in front of her. She looked up into his eyes, finding nothing but concern. She didn't even think about it, she wrapped her arms around him, not caring about the pain that shot up her arm from her hand as it jarred against his back. He slowly let his arms go around her, pulling her close to him.

"Pelia?" asked a low voice she recognized, and Aaron looked up in to the eyes of her brother.

"Parry, I suggest that you take better care of your sister from now on," he said, as he helped her up from her position on the ground, pulling her from his arms. She sagged slightly, but her brother was there in a flash, seeing the blood on her clothes.

"What the hell happened Aaron?" he asked, but Aaron was already gone. Pogue decided he would deal with that asshole later as he turned all his attention to his sister who was slowly losing consciousness.

a/n Hope you guys like the beginning ! I have always wanted Aaron to painted in a different light, figured this was my chance. Let me know what you all think! Rainy