Chapter 11

Sophia POV

Stan looked pretty thoughtful when I finished my story; he sat idly on the bed, playing with a loose string on the soft comforter. I didn't mind the silence, I checked my phone and noticed that I had dragged on a little more than I had meant to, wincing at how late it was. Going home wasn't a big concern at the moment, the Biggles were nice enough to let me sleep over when things with my mom got particularly bad. Mom probably won't be too upset at me being away for a while; I'd come home as always, bandaged up and quiet, and she would have a list of chores for me to do. You know, the same old song and dance.

"Why didn't you tell the police about it?" Stan finally asked. If I had to guess, I'd say he was just trying to think of something to say that wouldn't be too insensitive this whole time.

"It never occurred to me as a kid," I began softly. "Then I made friends and decided that it wouldn't matter. It's not like getting my mom in trouble is going to get her to change, if anything it'll make things worse. Besides, based on what Kenneth and Karen have told me, this beats foster care." He nodded pensively and I tried hiding a yawn behind my hand.

"You should probably sleep now, I bet you're really tired." He stood up and I nodded. I settled myself deeper into the blankets and moved around the pillow under my head into a more comfortable, squishy, shape. "Thanks for telling me by the way." He said awkwardly at the threshold of the door. "You didn't have to."

"You're our friend Stan. Goths stick together, as conformist as that sounds." I moved all my hair over one shoulder and ran my fingers through the tangled ends a few times. He gave me a final nod and turned off the light before leaving, shutting the door quietly behind him. I laid back and blinked up at the ceiling a few times, taking a few deep, measured breaths before closing my eyes and relaxing. Sleep came quickly and I embraced it, eager to rest.

3rd POV

Stan walked back to Henrietta's room, opening the door and the smell of cigarettes practically punched him in the face.

"So, have you finally satisfied your curiosity?" Henrietta turned the page of a book, the perfect image of boredom.

"What do you mean?" He slowly sat down on a black beanbag chair and Pete passed him a cigarette.

"What I mean is," She carefully put her book to the side, shattering that image as she leaned forward to give him a piercing stare. "We don't just give away our secrets freely Raven. Sophia has chosen to let you in on something very personal, something that isn't to be taken lightly. Which means, she considers you a friend, a part of our group. You heard her before, 'Raven is one of us, right?'. She has cemented your place among us and if you do anything to jeopardize that, if you throw it all away with a simple 'screw you guys, I'm going home' just as you did last time, well," she stood up and glared down at him with more hatred than he's ever seen, more than he ever saw directed at her mom. "We'll make sure you regret it." Stan swallowed thickly and he looked at the others for help. Michael's glare was just as heated if not more than Henrietta's, Firkle was twirling a butterfly knife between his fingers as he gave Stan a flat stare, and Pete has his arms crossed, flipping his hair out of his face as usual.

"Come on guys, of course I wouldn't do that." He pulled his beanie down a bit more so it flattened his bangs against his forehead, hiding what little sweat would be beading there.

"Alright, just so we're clear." Henrietta sat back down and everyone relaxed.

All except Michael that is.

Stan was starting to think Michael had a problem with him.

And he couldn't be more right.

Michael was already planning something, but the curly haired goth had to bide his time, he couldn't strike too early or else the repercussions would be devastating. He would just have to be patient and keep all his cards close to his chest, his first step was ensuring that a certain person would be on his side, it's inevitable really considering the pattern she frequently acts on.

It's pathetic, really, how predictable she can be.

But she's useful, and that's all that matters.

Sophia POV

The next morning I woke up to a gentle knocking; my eyes fluttered open and I blinked up at the white ceiling for a few seconds. I was so comfortable and warm, the mattress seemed to cradle me and the comforter felt like a warm hug. I was about to drift back to sleep before the knocking continued.

"Sophia? Are you up dear?" I could hear Mrs. Biggle call and decided it would be better if I got up.

"Yes, Mrs. Biggle." I managed to call back not too groggily. She opened the door slowly and peeked her head in, smiling as she saw me sit up.

"Good morning dear, did you sleep well?" She nudged the door wider with her hip and balanced a tray full of breakfast in her arms.

"I did, thank you." I rubbed my eyes from under my fringe and and yawned.

"Oh, I'm so glad you were able to rest. Here, I've made you a light breakfast." She settled the tray on my lap and put the cup on it on the nightstand. There was some toast, scrambled eggs, and a perfect bunch of shiny green grapes. "I know you kids love your black coffee, but I thought some orange juice would do you some good today." She smiled, indicating the cup on the nightstand.

"It's more than perfect Mrs. Biggle, thank you." I gave her a small smile and she beamed in return.

"I'll just open up these curtains here and go get you a spare change of clothes to wear how's that?" She threw open the black curtains and I was glad she put the juice on the bedside table, because I flinched so hard I jostled the tray a bit.

"You don't have to do that Mrs. Biggle, I'm sure I can just ask Henrietta to lend me something."

"Are you sure dear? I'm sure I have some cute clothes in the attic, it's no trouble at all to find them." I nodded and began picking at the grapes.

"I'm sure, I really appreciate it though." She sighed and smiled again at me.

"Alright then, I'll come back later for the tray okay? Take your time." I nodded and she left again, closing the door behind her. Some grapes and a few nibbles of toast later, there were a few sharp knocks at the door before it was pushed open.

"I hope you're decent Sophia." Henrietta called before throwing open the door and walking in with Firkle and Pete in tow.

"Morning." I said softly, offering a grape to Firkle as he perched himself next to me.

"Closer to afternoon actually, but we thought it'd be best to let you sleep." Pete flipped his bangs out of his face and I nodded.

"Anything planned for today?" I scooped some eggs into my mouth and they shrugged, Henrietta sat on the edge of the bed and Pete leaned against the wall.

"We were planned on going to the Village Inn for some coffee, but we're waiting on Michael and Raven." I nodded before my eyes widened.

"I never called in sick yesterday." I began fumbling for my phone, almost knocking down the orange juice in the process.

"I called for you yesterday, they said to take the weekend off if you need it." I sighed softly and thanked Henrietta. We sat for a few more moments of silence as I ate.

"Oh, I need to borrow something to wear." I remembered as I was finishing off my toast.

"Sure, but why?" She lit a cigarette and I sipped the orange juice.

"Well, I think it'd be too cold to go out in my pajamas." I shrugged.

"Are you sure you want to go out? It'd suck if you passed out on us, once was bad enough but I'll ditch you guys if it means having to accompany Raven as he carries you in his arms like some damsel in distress from a sexist fairytale." She rolled her eyes and Pete snickered.

"I think I'll be fine. If I pass out just put some sunglasses on me until I wake up. Or you guys can pretend I'm a corpse to scare the cranky waitress." I scoffed and put the tray aside, finally done with my breakfast. She shrugged and leaned over to flick some cigarette ash onto my empty plate.

"You're finally awake?" Michael appeared at the door with a backpack tossed over his shoulder. I looked up and shrugged.

"I woke up a little while ago, I just finished eating actually."

"What do you have there." Firkle tilted his head and Michael tossed the backpack to the corner of the room. My backpack.

"I went back to get this for you, I'd figure you'd need it if you're staying a while." My eyes slightly widened before the corners of my lips twitched upwards.

"Thank you." I said softly, looking at the worn out backpack that held my homework and work uniform.

"How sickening." Henrietta said in an obviously fake sugary voice. Michael rolled his eyes and scowled at her.

"So, are you coming to the Village Inn with us?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Us?" He repeated as he lit a cigarette. "Shouldn't you be resting?" I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"I'm fine, really." I tossed the covers off and threw my legs off the edge of the bed, standing on the balls of my feet for a quick stretch before making my way to the door. "I'll just pick something from your closet." I called back to Henrietta. I walked into the dim room and went straight to the wall adjacent to her bed, opening the wooden door. Going directly to the stuff hung in the back, clothes that don't fit anymore, I was able to riffle through the sea of black. I eventually found an old pair of jeans that was littered with rips along the legs, and a black sweatshirt that had a skinny puppy album cover on it. Taking what I found, plus some black socks with red stripes from her drawers -ignoring the skimpy lingerie that she for some reason had at the ready on top-, I made my way back to the room I slept in. They were all lounging around and someone opened the window so their cigarette smoke wouldn't fill up the room. I grabbed the breakfast tray and balanced the cup on it before picking it up.

"You can just leave that there, my mom'll probably come pick it up in a bit." Henrietta commented disinterestedly.

"It's alright, I have to grab my clothes from the laundry room anyway." I said softly and carefully made my way downstairs. Mr. Biggle was already gone for the day so I wasn't worried about him seeing me in my pajamas.

"Oh! I was just about to head upstairs for the tray!" Mrs. Biggle took it from my hands with a smile. "Thank you dear, I just baked a pie if you want a slice?" She smiled sweetly but I shook my head.

"No thanks Mrs. Biggle." I watched her gently put the tray down onto the kitchen counter.

"Alrighty, but there'll be a couple of slices waiting for you kids when you come home." Her grin was infectious and I found myself lifting the corners of my lips. I gave her a solid nod before turning around and heading to the laundry room. I saw my clothes neatly folded on a basket labeled with my name. There were four other baskets, three for the people who lived here and another labeled "guests". After the first few times I stayed, Mrs. Biggle got me my own basket and labeled it with my name. She's always been nice like that. I don't interact much with Mr. Biggle, but he doesn't seem to mind having me around, if anything just because of how polite I am to his wife. I grabbed my clothes and went back upstairs, noticing the rip on the pants was neatly sown.

"Just another minute." I said softly as I grabbed my borrowed clothes and walked into the restroom.

"Hurry up." Pete flipped his bangs out of his face and I nodded. I locked the hall bathroom door behind me and gently pulled off my pajamas, stretching and kicking my legs a few times to see how it felt; it was mostly sore but nowhere near being a problem. After getting my foot stuck in the rips a few times, I managed to pull on the skinny jeans and then the socks, stepping into my shoes but not tying them yet. I pulled on my bra and frowned at it. I never needed much to hold my boobs, since they were a pretty small size, but this is just getting ridiculous. The bra was a faded color and frayed in more than a couple of places.

"I guess I have to save up for more than just shoes." I muttered as I pulled on the sweatshirt. Bending down to tie my shoes, my mouth puckered to a huff as my hair flopped over and covered my face. I reached behind the mirror above the sink for my toothbrush and quickly brushed my teeth, washing and drying my face afterwards. "Done." My fingers ran through my hair a few times and I patted my bangs down. Taking quick steps, I walked back to the room and left my folded pajamas on the now neat bed - Mrs. Biggle must have come in here while I was in the restroom. "Let's go." I said softly and everyone stood up and made their way to the door.

"Finally." Henrietta sighed. "We're going out!" I could hear her yell at her mom but couldn't hear the response. Just as I was about to follow, Michael took a step closer.

"Hey." Michael tapped my arm and I turned around to look at him. We were the only ones left in the room.

"Yeah?" I furrowed my eyebrows and he fiddled with the filter on his cigarette.

"Are you sure you want to go out? You can stay if you're not feeling well." He didn't look at me. "Don't go out just for us."

"I really am fine, nothing hurts." I shrugged my shoulders and I saw his tongue dart out to moisten his lips.

"I could stay behind too, I'm not really in the mood to look at that poor excuse of a waitress, she does nothing but complain every time we go." He said this all very uninterested, but my eyebrows slowly rose.

"You would stay with me? Just the two of us?" I swallowed the lump in my throat and he gave a jerky nod.

"It's whatever." He shrugged but I could see a splotchy red color stain his cheeks.

"I have homework I need to catch up on." My sentence was practically whispered and I could see his adam's apple jerk up and down suddenly.

"I'll ask Henrietta's mom to make a pot of coffee." He replied just as quietly and I kicked off my shoes.

"I'll go tell them we're staying." I bit my lip and we suddenly couldn't seem to look at each other. I ducked my head down and tightly grabbed the banister as I walked downstairs. Henrietta, Pete, and Firkle were at the front door waiting for us.

"For fucks sakes, are you ready yet or not?" Pete crossed his arms.

"I'm staying." Firkle raised an eyebrow. "Michael is too." Henrietta's lips curled up into a delighted smirk.

"Try not to make a mess." She snickered and I could feel the uncovered part of my face flush.

"It's not like that." I whispered as I looked down at my feet.

"Oh, I think we know exactly what it's like." Pete's smirk joined Henrietta's.

"Have fun kids, don't do anything we wouldn't do, and definitely don't do anything we would do." And with those charming words, they were gone out the door in a flash.

I really wish Henrietta wouldn't look so satisfied with herself.