Dear Misty,

We all miss you. Ma's been drinking way more than usual, and I think I'm the only one who cares. Well the others do, obviously, but nobody who can do something about it cares. Pa's encouraging it because it shuts her up and gets her off his back. It's not like she causes him no problems when she's black-out drunk. Only, she's not black-out drunk all the time. Sometimes she's angry. She's always yelling and it makes the little ones cry. I hope you can come home soon.

Love, Lizzy

Misty frowned. God, she worried about her siblings back home, stuck with those monsters who dared to call themselves parents. It was mostly Misty they hated, but they weren't exactly loving towards any of their children. She wanted so badly to protect her siblings, but she knew it was safest for everybody if she was away most of the time. But from the sounds of her sister's letters, Ma had gotten even worse.

Lizzy,

Break's not for another couple of months, but I promise I'll come home to see ya'll. How are the others? And how are you?

Misty paused, and chewed on the end of her pen, wondering what to write. The dining hall was so loud, and she couldn't focus on what she wanted to say.

Maybe you can swap Ma's drink for water. Wonder if she'd notice. She probably wouldn't, although when she's drunk it won't make no difference. What about Nana? I'm sure she cares. Maybe

"Misty?" said Zoe.

Misty stopped writing. "Yeah?"

"The bell went."

"Oh. Thanks. Didn't even hear it."

"Is everything okay?"

Misty smiled as convincingly as she could. She didn't want to bother Zoe with her problems – her friend had enough shit of her own to deal with. "Yeah, all good."

0o0o

Misty had English with Nan and Cordelia, and they often walked to their next class together. "Oh, damn, I forgot my textbook," Cordelia said. "See you there." She dashed off, blonde hair streaming behind her, and Misty watched her go.

"You like her, don't you?" said Nan from beside her.

Misty spluttered, and hastily tore her eyes away from Cordelia's retreating back. "What?" she asked, coughing. "What makes you say that?"

Nan smiled cheekily. "I can tell. I'm good at noticing things like that."

"Like what?" Misty frowned.

"Like goo-goo eyes."

"Goo-goo eyes?"

"Yeah, when someone's eyes say they wanna take the person's clothes off right there."

Misty hastily shushed Nan between laughs. "Shut up."

"So you do like her?"

Misty sighed. "I get the feelin' there's no point in denyin' it."

"True," Nan nodded.

It seemed like Nan had figured it out already – was there really any point in denying it? Misty didn't think so. Besides, it would be kind of nice to have someone to talk to about it. "Yeah, I like her."

"No you don't."

Misty furrowed her eyebrows, unsure what Nan was doing. "Huh? But you just said-"

"You LUUUURVE her," Nan teased.

Misty felt her face go red. "What? No I don't! I haven't even known her that long."

Nan put a finger to her lips. "Sh, it's okay."

"It is?" Misty said, surprised at her friend's reaction. She had expected Nan to be… not okay with it. She knew Nan's parents were very religious, so she had assumed Nan had been taught that being gay was wrong – but the girl didn't seem phased by it at all. Misty was grateful, but still surprised.

"Yeah," said Nan, smiling. "I think she's cute. And you're cute, so you should go for it."

"Nan!" Misty protested, laughing at Nan's constant honesty. She really admired Nan for that – not a lot of people could just outright say what they were thinking, Misty included. She wished she had the courage to – it would save her a lot of time.

"What? It's the truth!" Nan said, and shrugged. "And anyway, I'm allowed to say that because I've got a boyfriend."

Misty raised her eyebrows. "Since when?"

"Since the summer break," Nan said, grinning. "A new boy moved in next door. He is soooo hot and he thinks I'm hot too."

Misty high-fived her. "Hell yeah, Nan."

"His name is Luke. And he has abs. I got to touch them," Nan said proudly.

Misty wolf-whistled and wiggled her eyebrows. "Look at you go!"

"That could be you, you know," Nan said. "You and Cordelia could be like me and Luke. We could go on double dates."

"That would be fun," Misty said dreamily, imagining taking Cordelia out on a date. The thought of spending time with her… holding her hand… kissing her, even… the thought of that made Misty's heart flutter like it had grown wings and wanted to burst from her chest and fly away. "We could go ice skatin' or something."

"And the movies!"

0o0o

Maybe you guys could stay with her for a while, I doubt she'd complain. She'd probably make you clean the house until you can see your face reflected on the walls, but that's better than getting smacked, I would say.

I guess just try to keep the others out of trouble, and stay out of the house as much as you can. Stay at friend's places, join a school club, get a job or some shit. I don't know. I'm sorry, I wish there was more I could do, I feel so goddamn useless. But I'll be home at break, I promise. And remember that one day you'll be free from them. You and Mary and Roxy and Tommy and me, we'll get through this together.

Make sure you all take care of each other. Love you, Liz, and give everyone hugs from me.

Misty xx

"…make sure you all take care of each other… give everyone hugs from me… ew," Madison mocked. "God, that's so sappy, don't you even know how to write a letter without coming across as stupid?"

Misty snatched the letter out of Madison's view, and glared at her roommate. "Eat shit, Madison. Might even improve your breath."

Madison stuck out her lower lip. "Aw, did I hurt your feelings, swamp princess?"

"I'm real sorry no-one writes to you, Madison, but I'm not surprised to be honest."

"You don't know what you're talking about, swampie, because the only people who write to you are your hick siblings," Madison sneered. "I got a letter from James Dean the other day, but whatever, keep bragging about your ugly sister."

Misty rolled her eyes. "Like hell you got a letter from James Dean. And my sister has more beauty in her littlest finger than you got in that thing you call a face."

"Daddy's friends with him," Madison bragged, and picked up the photo frame on Misty's bedstand, which had been taken a couple of years ago. "And your sister looks exactly like you, so do you need me to continue?"

Misty shrugged. "Hey, at least I don't look like you. Are you gonna stand there and bother me or are you gonna actually do something with your life?"

"I don't need to do anything with my life," Madison said, rolling her eyes. She unceremoniously dumped the photo back on Misty's bedstand. "I'm rich, swampie, but of course you don't know what that's like, new money doesn't count."

"I don't really care about your opinions, Madison," Misty said, reaching over to her bedstand and turning out the light.

"What the fuck, swampie? Turn the light back on, I'm changing."

Misty ignored her, knowing it would piss Madison off even more. Madison growled, and stomped back across the room, switching the light back on. Misty grinned to the wall. God, she hated her roommate, but at least it was fun to torture her.

She wasn't sure how to feel now that Nan had figured out that she liked Cordelia. It wasn't as though Nan had judged her – quite the opposite in fact – but Misty had wanted to keep it a secret. She knew that it wasn't likely Cordelia would feel for Misty the same way – she had just gone through a tough break-up, after all, and Misty was nothing like the people Cordelia was used to hanging around. She had no class. She didn't know Cordelia's world at all – the world of the rich.

Misty's parents had struck it rich when she was ten, after winning a ten-million-dollar lotto ticket. But she and her siblings rarely saw a penny of it – they had to scrimp and save and work if they wanted anything to call their own. Misty didn't mind too much – they needed practice for the real world if they were to go through with it and cut their parents off completely – but it would still be nice to have things.

She felt so out of place among the upper-class her classmates belonged to. She talked different, she walked different. And if it weren't for their compulsory school uniform, she would look different as well. She knew it wasn't likely that Cordelia would ever think of her romantically – why would she, when there were hundreds of better, smarter, prettier girls out there?

Misty sighed, unable to help herself. If she just ignored her little crush – which was quickly turning into a big crush – she would be fine. She was sure of it.

Hiya! Sorry this chapter's kinda short, I've been super busy with school. It's that horrible time of year where everything is due. But a longer chapter is coming soon, and actual stuff is going to happen, I swear.

Chapter title from 'Don't Stop' by, you guessed it, Fleetwood Mac.