Chapter Text
It was a late summers afternoon, and a group of mix-matched teens walked along a dusty road, heading to the abandoned buildings in the worser part of the city. They all loved exploring the unstable buildings; the thrill they got from it was psychotic, or at least that’s what their parents would say if they knew what they did every day. At this point it was just where they hung out.
Two of them had always loved adventuring in the city, just to get away from home, but when they got older they started to tire of it being just them two. They dragged their friends along, and soon there was seven of them. They were all bored of regular life, and how they were treated, and all wanted to get away from it all. A few of them were reluctant to go into the dangerous buildings, but gave in to minor amounts of peer pressure.
When dusk settled in, the teens where relaxed and chatting, just enjoying each other’s company.
“Aj!” yelled Frankie, clambering up a beam with great agility, “Pass me that water!”
Aj complied, capping the bottle he was drinking from and tossing up to her. She caught it with one hand and drank greedily. Aj kept talking to Sasha, his girlfriend, and ignored his little sister. Frankie rolled her eyes and chucked the now-empty bottle at his head. He snatched it out the air with his incredible reflexes, still not looking at Frankie.
“Franks, you know you can never beat me.” Aj winked at Sasha and threw the bottle out of a large gap in the wall. A few moments later, they all heard the plastic hit the ground, and a loud car horn blared up at them. Frankie grinned, muttering about stupid rich people cars.
Kiki peered over the edge, watching the few cars speed past, mostly going towards the city’s centre. A loud shout echoed through the building, and the kids all looked at each other and grimaced. No-one could forget that voice. It was the land-owner, Jack, who had found some of the litter nearby and had tried to catch them hanging around for weeks. He hadn’t seen them yet, but they always taunted him from the shadows. He knew there was at least five of them. Two people never spoke - Kiki and Asher. Kiki spoke very rarely, since she was usually non-verbal, but no-one knew why Asher wouldn’t speak. At least it gave a good reason for them all to learn sign language - it made communication easier in every scenario, including this one.
What do we do? signed Frankie, an anxious look on her round face. Her mouth was set in a stubborn line, but her eyes pleaded her older brother to help out. Aj noticed, and immediately took control of the situation.
Alright, let’s vacate this place. Asher you go with Lucas and Kiki, Sasha take Panther, and Frankie come with me. Meet at the old bowling alley. Got it? He instructed, and everyone got into their groups and left to go different ways. Aj held out his arms and Frankie jumped down into them. He set her on the floor and they took off, sprinting to another hole in the wall, where they leaped across a small gap and into another old apartment building. This one was crumbling a bit more than the one they usually hung out in, but it was safe enough to make quick get-aways. They hid in the shadows as the sound of heavy grunts echoed from the room they just left.
“Stupid kids! I saw one of you throw a water bottle down there! You need to get out, wherever you are!” His breathing seemed laboured, and he wheezed as he talked.
Frankie stifled a giggle at the sight she was imagining. A chubby old man with thin, balding hair, doubled over with his wrinkled hands on his knees. Aj looked down at her face, and snorted as he saw it contorted with the difficulty of holding in laughter.
“I heard you! You damned kids! Where are you?!”
“We’re nowhere.”
“And everywhere.”
Aj and Frankie burst out laughing, and sprinted down some rickety stairs down to the lowest floor. Just then, a gunshot rang out behind them. Frankie’s eyes widened, and Aj grabbed her shoulder. They were still a couple floors up, since the stairs after that were rusting with many sharp holes in them. Aj mutely pointed towards an empty window frame, which they knew had bin bags below it. Frankie nodded, terrified, and they held hands as they jumped out the window. They landed on the bags, bursting a few and getting coated in grime. Frankie made a face as Aj pulled her out of the bins, pulling a banana peel out of her cropped hair. Then they sprinted in the general direction of the run-down bowling alley, desperately hoping everyone was there.
When they arrived, Kiki, Asher, and Lucas greeted them. As they waited, they brought each other up to speed on which route they took, and if any old passageways were too broken to use now. Aj told them about the gun, his hands shaking as he tried to sign. A sense of dread started to creep in as they waited longer and longer for Sasha and Panther to arrive. Aj clutched Frankie’s hand, and Kiki fidgeted, staring into the distance, a knot forming in her stomach.
Finally, two forms dropped off the roof of the bowling alley, covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Sasha was half-carrying Panther. Kiki went over, and helped support them.
“What happened?” Lucas demanded, his voice harsh against the previous silence.
“Uh, well, we didn’t know he had a gun... and... well-”
“Panther was shot.” Kiki murmured gently, an absolute certainty in her voice. Everyone looked at her in surprise, for she had only spoke a couple times in front of them before. She took Panther from Sasha, cradling them with soft hands. Her gaze rested on Sasha, a sharpness in her eyes that scared the older girl.
“Um, yeah, in the leg,” Sasha agreed, “but can you even do anything?”
Kiki’s gaze softened as she looked down at Panther, and she opened her satchel, which she always kept on her. She pulled out some medical equipment and gestured for everyone to go inside. She followed them, carefully balancing everything she was carrying. She went over to one of the cleanest tables, and laid Panther on it. She set to work, cleaning and wrapping the wound to the best of her ability. Luckily, the bullet had somehow hit the bone and bounced back out of their leg, so she didn’t have to mess around to remove it. Unfortunately, that meant there were two holes in Panther’s leg, both bleeding heavily.
Once Kiki had finished, everyone stepped away, Sasha leaning against Aj with exhaustion. Kiki turned her gaze sharply on everyone, before letting it wander to Sasha. She took her queue without much prompting, trying to explain what had happened. Kiki wanted to blame her, but she knew it wasn’t truly her fault. It was Jack’s, that stupid gun-wielding land owner. Kiki took a shaky breath, then made Sasha sit down and take some supplements. The others settled down, their decision to stay the night already made. Kiki rested on the couch nearest the table where Panther lay, unconscious. Her eyelids drooped, and she slept fitfully.
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Light filtering through the smashed windows aroused Lucas, and he struggled to sit up, blinking and grunting. He hated mornings. He rubbed sleep from his eyes, and pushed himself off the sofa he was sleeping on. His confusion was brief, then he looked around. His friends were all sleeping on similar ugly sofas, and he was annoyed that he had awoken first. He realised where he was, then brushed his messy, long hair out of his eyes. He turned to the table where Panther lay.
Their breathing was still laboured, and they had bled through the bandages, but their skin wasn’t as pale as before, and they weren’t twitching with pain anymore. He walked over to Kiki, who was asleep in what had to be the most uncomfortable position ever, then reached for her bag to get more bandages. Kiki’s eyes snapped open and she grabbed Lucas’s hand.
“What the-!? Oh. My bad, Kiki, I was just gonna re-bandage Panther’s leg.”
Kiki’s hard face dropped, and she gestured for him to continue. He made quick work of it, much to Kiki’s surprise. Lucas noticed her expression, and smiled wearily.
“I found it interesting when watching you. I wanted to try,” he offered in explanation. Kiki nodded thoughtfully, then shut her eyes once more. Lucas could tell that she hadn’t slept well - she was probably too worried about Panther.
After he had finished the work, which he found incredibly soothing on an early morning, he stood back and looked around. Kiki had fallen asleep again, but a few others were starting to wake. Sasha looked much healthier, but Aj and Frankie were covered in muck. He went into another room, where some rags that used to be cloths were kept in a pile, and he soaked a few in a still working tap. It wasn’t drinkable water, because that would be way too convenient for some neglected kids, but it would do for washing.
He returned to the room they’d slept in to find everyone awake, and he handed two cloths to Aj and Frankie. He kept the third back for everyone else to clean their faces. Once everyone had finished, he mutely took them back to where he found them. When he came back the second time, he saw everyone crowded around Panther, who was blinking up at everyone sleepily. Lucas joined them to see their face become panicked, and Kiki pushed everyone back. Panther sat up slowly, and they winced in pain. They appeared to be fighting down nausea, and Kiki grabbed a bottle of water from her satchel.
Panther gulped down mouthfuls, the room beginning to spin less with each sip they took. Eventually they could manage sitting up without Kiki’s help. They looked for Asher, who was the one standing furthest away, unfiltered rage in his eyes. His fists and jaw were clenched, and he was staring towards the direction of the old apartment buildings.
“Asher?” Panther whispered, their voice hoarse. He looked up at them, and his gaze softened. He walked over to them, and hugged them, making sure not to further injure their leg. Panther’s eyes watered as they wrapped their arms around Asher, pulling him closer. The two had a sibling-like bond; Asher had found them on the street and looked after them, since they were orphaned.
As they hugged, the rest of the group discussed what to do now. Eventually Aj said that they should all go home and make sure everyone ate. Asher carried Panther, his large frame swamping the youngest group member. Kiki followed them mutely, signing something about medical treatment. Aj and Frankie walked home together in uncomfortable silence - they hated their home. Sasha and Lucas had a similar walk back, not even looking at each other as they arrived back home.
As soon as they got there, they split off to go to their separate rooms, ignoring their mum staring blankly at a wall in the living room. Sasha went into her room; it’s plain white walls were mouldy, and the shelves, which had a couple books on them, were coated in dust. Her bed was unmade, it’s grey and white sheets partly draped on the floor. There was no windows. A pile of clothes were in one corner. Sasha flopped onto the bed in the middle of the room, it’s uncomfortable bumps prodding her stomach. She grabbed a folder and a notebook from under the bed, and started to work on her overdue homework and revision.
Meanwhile, Lucas paced in his room; it’s qualities similar to Sasha’s. However, Lucas’s room had a small window near the top of the wall furthest from the door. It had grey blinds, which were broken and stuck half-open, half-shut. His bed was tucked into the corner, since his room was slightly smaller, but he had covered the rest of the floor in litter and clothes. He tripped over a pair of lace up boots and cursed, punching a wall in anger. He shook, taking deep breaths before sitting down on the floor. He stayed there for hours, staring at the window and wishing it was large enough for him to leave out of.
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Frankie hung back at the door as Aj walked inside. He looked back and she gingerly stepped through. They looked down as they walked through their family mansion, and walked up the glass stairs hand-in-hand. They heard their parents yelling in their room and avoided going closer, instead turning right on the third floor and up into the attic that Frankie had turned into her room. The rest of the house was so fake-looking and museum-like that the attic felt so warm and comforting.
It had a large, circular window with a dark wooden frame, which had tree branches separating sections of the window; light streaming through the different coloured stained glass casted the room into many colourful hues. The walls had been painted a dark, forest green, with hand painted doodles in orange and yellow scattered on them. A bunkbed with rainbow sheets on top and a desk underneath was stationed in the corner. Sheets of paper, paints, sketchbooks, and other art supplies were messily dumped on the desk. A spiny chair, coloured purple, was tucked under it. The desk itself was a nice uneven wood texture, the same as the bed frame and ladder. A bin with a yellow smiley face on was in the corner. Above everything else, a large net with pillows and bedsheets hung near the bed. A green rug covered most of the wooden floor.
Frankie clambered onto her bed, whilst Aj took one of the multi-coloured beanbags near the wooden bookshelf. They chatted for a while, snacking on Frankie’s never-ending supply of food, hidden in a locked chest under the big window. Next to her yellow wardrobe was a minifridge which had drinks of many kinds. Mostly lemonade and monster energy drinks.
After a while, Aj reminded Frankie that he had revision and homework to do, and he left soon after. Once he was gone, Frankie jumped off her bed and went to sit on top of the locked chest and looked out the window. The richer part of the city stretched around her, and she focused her eyesight on the distance, watching as the summer sun rose higher and higher into the sky. She was glad that it was summer, but she missed the distraction of school, and her few classmates that she tolerated. Molly and Jade would be painting each others nails, brushing their hair, and wearing pretty pink dresses. As much as Frankie hated that idea, it was better than being alone.
She wandered over to her desk, sitting down and starting to sketch bunnies. They were her favourite animal, and she had begged her parents to get her two for her birthday. She smiled, hoping her parents had been listening, since her birthday was next week. After sketching several poses for bunnies, she got her watercolour paints and delicately painted them, making each one a different pattern. Her favourite was on that was sat down, facing the camera, with a honey coloured coat. She waited for the paint to dry, then found a sharpie and gave them all moustaches, top hats, and bow ties. She found a spare picture frame and hung it above her bed.
Happy with the new improvement to her décor, Frankie returned to pondering about Molly and Jade. She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, unlocked it, and fingered to her contacts until she found “Jade Hawk”. She pressed call, then put it on speaker. After a couple seconds, she picked up the phone.
“Francesca?” Jade’s melodic voice rang out the phone, “What’re you calling for?”
“First, it’s Frankie, and second, I’m bored. Wanna meet up?”
“Uh, I mean I’m at Molly’s right now, but maybe another day?” Jade’s hesitance was enough for Frankie to hang up. She searched through her contacts for “Molly Spades”.
“Uh, hello?”
“Hi Molly, wanna meet up? I’m bored.” Frankie said quickly, putting a smile into her voice.
“Frankie? Uh... sure, I guess? If you wanna come to mine right now that’s fine, I suppose. Jade’s here though. Do you need the address?” Molly squeaked, her voice raising in the way it does when she didn’t want to upset someone.
“Nah, I’ll figure it out. Between Silver Birch Park and Blossom Hill, right?”
“Wait, how did-” Molly’s question was cut off by Frankie hanging up. She hopped down the ladder that led to the attic, and rushed down the flights of stairs, bringing her set of keys with her. Three keychains with silly monster guys hung from it, as well as two bunny keychains. There were a lot of keys hanging on it too, mostly for balcony doors or windows. Frankie found the one with a smiley sticker for the front door. She locked the door when she left, something she didn’t always remember to do, and scampered off towards Molly’s house.
It didn’t take long to arrive at Molly’s, because, even though it wasn’t as impressive as the mansion Frankie lived it, it was a large house, and was nestled in the rich area of the city. However, Molly’s house was nowhere near as museum-like as the other buildings in the area. It even had a large garden, which was something very uncommon in the city. Plants and vines draped from pots in the windows, and the walls were made of pale yellow brickwork, making it look more like a countryside mansion than one belonging to a city. Frankie arrived at the gated driveway and scaled the walls with ease. She walked straight to the door and rang the doorbell. Molly’s mother answered, and looked beyond surprised to find a short teenager standing there in alternative clothing and high black boots with pink laces.
“Oh, uh, hi? Who are you? Wait, how did you get through the gate without knowing the password?” Molly’s mum stressed.
“Relax, Miss Spades, I’m one of Molly’s classmates. She invited me round. She told me the code, don’t worry, I didn’t guess it.” Frankie assured her, walking inside as if she knew what she was doing.
“Okay, hun. Um... what’s your name?”
“Frankie. Nice to meet you Miss Spades,” Frankie held out her hand.
“Oh, no need for formalities, Frankie! Please call me Katie,” she said, shaking Frankie’s hand and smiling.
Frankie smiled back, adding her charm to it. She was great at manipulating adults with her charismatic smiles. It always got her out of missed homework detentions and from any sort of punishment at school, and it clearly worked on Katie Spades too.
“They’re upstairs, in Molly’s room,” Katie told her, and Frankie set off up the carpeted stairs. After looking through some wrong doors, finding a porcelain bathroom and several walk in wardrobes, Frankie finally came to a door with pink lacey ribbons tied to the doorhandle. Frankie walked in with confidence, and saw Molly and Jade sat cross-legged on the floor. They had toy rabbits and cups of tea with them. Frankie faltered as she saw it, confused as to why they were having a soft toy tea party when they were 14. Another emotion crossed her face as she realised she longed to have a soft toy tea party with friends.
“Hey Frankie!” Molly looked up as the door opened. Jade scanned her face, and recognised the thoughts behind her eyes.
“Come join us, Francesca!” Molly elbowed Jade, “Oh! Frankie, sorry.”
“Uh, sure.”
“It’s okay, Frankie, we have another rabbit somewhere, and there’s plenty of tea and lemon cake left. We can also ask my mum for custard creams as well.” Molly smiled as Frankie sat down, fetching a mug and filling it with tea, and getting a plate with a slice of cake. She brought them over then rummaged through a box of teddies, finally pulling a cute caramel coloured bunny out the box. Jade saw Frankie’s face light up.
“Do you like bunnies?” She asked.
“Hm yeah. My favourite animal. I think I’m getting some for my birthday next week.”
“Nice, I have cats so I’m not allowed rabbits,” Jade replied.
“I had budgies, but I don’t have any pets right now.” Molly commented.
“Cute.” Frankie muttered, not a fan of small talk. She shoved the cake into her mouth and gulped down the tea. Jade and Molly looked on in surprise, and Frankie refused to look at them, cuddling the toy bunny when she finished. Jade and Molly clearly wanted to say something, but were probably taught not to comment on people’s eating habits. They glanced at each other before looking at Frankie again. Molly stopped staring first, obviously not wanting to be rude. Jade shook out of her daze after a while, and they continued to chat as if nothing happened.
Frankie zoned out of the conversation, looking around the room instead. Nearly everything was pink or purple, and only soft pastel shades of the colours. Frankie decided she liked the neon variants much more. Her gaze rested on the bed, the same style as her own, but with pale birch wood, and pale pink sheets. It was lined with teddies, and the throbbing feeling of longing pumped through her veins. She missed her old teddies.
“Do you want some custard creams, Frankie?” Molly inquired, about to leave through the door.
“Uh, maybe just a couple if that’s okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“K, cool.” Frankie watched her awkwardly leave the room, before turning her attention back to the room. She watched the sunlight stream through the window, and she realised it was past midday.
“Why did you eat like that?” Jade suddenly asked.
“Um, I didn’t eat lunch?”
“Oh. Okay, but, uh, why?”
Frankie shrugged, putting her walls up as fast as she could. Jade eyed her from across the rug they were sat on.
“Just didn’t.” Frankie muttered. Jade looked as if she was about to respond, but just then Molly’s mum came into the room carrying a plate with some biscuits on it. Molly followed behind her.
“Girls, someone’s older brother is here!” Katie Spades said cheerfully, her eyes going to Frankie.
“Not me. I only have a little sister.” Jade looked at Frankie.
“Uh, you mean Aj?” Frankie ventured, “Green eyes and red hair like mine?”
“Yes! He’s at the door.”
Frankie murmured goodbyes to the girls and grabbed two custard creams from the plate as she left the room. Katie gave the plate to Molly and followed Frankie downstairs.
“Bye, Miss Spades,” muttered Frankie, who hadn’t realised that time had flown as much as it had.
“Bye, darling!”
Frankie shoved her feet into her boots and tied the laces. She followed Aj out the door and along the drive, not looking back. As they approached the gate, it swung open, and they walked out.
“Why were you there?”
“How did you find me?”
“Answer my question first,” snapped Aj.
“Sorry, jeez. I was bored and wanted to hang out with some classmates. Now tell me how you found me.”
“Followed you.”
“Stop doing that!” Frankie snarled, keeping her voice down so passers-by didn’t hear, “Also, why did you let me stay for hours if you didn’t want me there?”
“I didn’t want them to seem suspicious of you only being there a couple minutes before being picked up.”
“Okay, fair, but why am I not allowed there?”
Aj paused and shuffled his feet, making Frankie stop walking for her answer. When she did, he dragged her into a gap between buildings so nobody could hear.
“I, um, well...” he trailed off.
“Well, what?”
“It’s just...” he sighed, “nothing, never mind, I don’t want to worry you.”
“Dude! Just tell me!”
Aj turned around and walked back into the sunlight, and Frankie had no choice but to follow. When they next stopped, it was back at their house, but at the wrong side for the front door. Aj gestured upwards, and Frankie climbed to the open window two stories above them. She looked out but Aj had gone round the front. Frankie smirked, her joy at being a good climber getting to her before she looked for what Aj wanted her to see.
Unfortunately, it was all around her. Paperwork and and envelopes were scattered on her parents bed and throughout the room. Frankie went to get a closer look, and her eyes widened as she saw what the paperwork was for. A divorce.
Frankie had always known her parents weren’t happy, since her mum had cheated on her step-dad, but they had stayed together for the sake of the children and the mansion. Without the other person’s income, they wouldn’t be able to afford the house.
Frankie looked through more paperwork, finding ones about childcare. She gasped as she saw that Aj would stay with his dad, and Frankie would stay with her mum. As much as she loved her mum, she wasn’t always stable without someone to help her with her alcohol addiction. She also knew she couldn’t stay with her step-dad, for he hated where she came from and what she represented. However, she wished she could stay with Aj, the only person who she trusted to care for her.
Aj opened the door when he heard Frankie start to sniffle, and he wrapped his arms around her and dragged her out. She turned and sobbed into his chest, her hopes of fitting a bunny pen into her colourful bedroom crushed under the masses of paperwork. Aj pulled her into his room, which he had decorated like it was in the ocean, and shut the door. After sitting for a while, he cleared his throat.
“You didn’t happen to see any dates, did you?”
Frankie shook her head, and buried her head in her rainbow hoodie like a rabbit. She curled up on Aj’s bed, and refused to eat or drink whenever he offered her food or water. Their mum was out, probably drinking, and Aj’s dad was working in his home office until late. Frankie fell asleep on Aj’s bed, and in turn, Aj fetched one of Frankie’s beanbags to his room so he could sleep near her, in case she awoke to being alone. It took him a while to fall asleep, and after he did, he slept fitfully, twisting and turning through the night.