*the next morning

Sierra's POV:

Ross's car ran over the black concrete so that all of the passing greenery and houses were a hazy blur. Inside we were a mixture of bored and awkward glances because after all I officially met the guy yesterday. I didn't know if he had seen me lurking outside his window, but that was a good sign, if he said nothing then I was off the hook. Right? Why does it even matter? I didn't even know how to respond to my inner thoughts anymore. We both itched for the destination to come, school. Yuck.

"Uh, so I'll see you later?" Ross parked and locked on his backpack. He handed me a stack of notebooks and supplies that his mom had mentioned the night before. I just bobbled my head as I grabbed my things and paced quickly to my first class without looking back. The quicker and louder my steps were, the better. Although to my dismay, I just had to be a few minutes early so I waded outside my assigned locker instead.

"Hey No-Name," The guy rested his back on the lockers beside me. He held his books tightly against his chest and looked to the other side of the hallway. He was the same person who I met at lunch yesterday.

"Hello What's-His-Name," I spit back playfully. While I had no friends here I figured if he could take a couple verbal hits from me he'd be just fine.

"It's Jason, and you are..." He paused for me to respond, but I denied him the satisfaction, "This is where you're supposed to laugh because you realize we already have our own dynamic and we're both outcasts that nobody gets. Then later we'll get matching tats on our asses that we'll regret in years to come, but laugh about when we have to explain the story to people that never really knew us anyway."

"You sure talk a lot." I blinked up at him, a mischievous smile curled on my lips. "So I'm thinking that you'll get a pink, fluffy bunny tattoo with sparkles and a bow."

"Yeah?" He adjusted his position to look me in the eyes. He was just so damn hopeful... something that I lacked.

"I think I'll call you Playboy Bunny instead or PB for short, but you can call me Sierra."

"Sierra, hmm, not as creative as Playboy Bunny, but it will do." His smile matched mine. The bell rang and I began parting ways. "Maybe I'll catch you at lunch?" He reached for my shoulder, but I was already too far away.

"Maybe," I called back to him as I treaded backwards, bumping into other kids rushing through the hallway. Smooth.

---------------------------------------------

As minutes of class passed by, slower by the second, the ceaseless mumbling of the cluttered classroom continued. Irrelevant gossip spread amongst the other kids like a burning ember. The expressionless guy who sat next to me, drummed powerfully on the unstable desk with absolutely no rhythm. It didn't seem to bother anyone else, but to me it produced sounds that echoed through my unsolicited ears. The teacher droned on about an unknown topic and his words seemed to bounce off my skull. To pass the time I peered outside the large windows that covered the bare walls. The sky held a few light streaks from a passing plane and a single bird. I even tapped out what I thought had been the melody from Ross's room. It had grown on me, god I hated that it had grown on me. The ring of the bell for lunch was so swift and gratifying that I jumped out of my seat and raced out of that room. Any longer and I may have burst.

I had managed to push past the constant stream of my peers to get to the lunch table. The grass was damp and covered in a thin layer of dew. As I walked my footprints were embedded, leaving a little piece of me in the flakes of green. I chomped on half of my turkey sandwich, but made sure there was enough to save and stow it away with my other piles of leftovers. I listened closely to the monotone buzz of voices that hummed like a contest of bustling words and noisy chatter.

"I was looking for you," two deep voices from opposite directions harmonized. Ross and Jason had been both heading my way.

"Who are you?" They gawked at each other as they approached my table. I couldn't suppress my laugh, they sounded like identical twins in sync.

"This is Ross, he's my, uh, foster brother and this is Jason, my, um friend." I motioned towards them to sit down.

PB hunched his shoulders and grinned wider than ever, "Anyone who's a friend of Sier-Bear is a friend of mine." He climbed into the bench next to me.

"Never call me that again," I hissed.

"I was talking to your brother, not you," He taunted back.

"Foster brother," Ross corrected, his voice was harsh, but he finally sat down on the other side of me. What crawled up his panties?

---------------------------------------------

I clicked my seatbelt in and turned to Ross to show I was ready to go. Without warning he spun out into the street and started his way home, "So Jason, he's cool."

"Yeah he's alright," I shrugged, fiddling with the lock on my car door.

"Yup," He popped the 'p' obnoxiously, but I fought back the urge to say something. Instead of facing the silence, I filled it with humming quietly to myself.

"Wait. That song. That's my song. Where'd you hear it?" He barked anxiously. Shit shit shit.

I tried my best to whip up a lie, "I'm sure I heard it on the radio or something." My back stiffened, but I refused to allow eye contact.

"No, no, you must have overheard me playing last night." I gulped. "I guess I was a little loud, sorry about that." He lifted his hand to slightly above my knee. I twitched uncomfortably under his warm palm, but did nothing to move it. I wasn't used to the mixed combination of feelings it brought me.

An odd panic seemed to overwhelm me as I reached for the volume knob of the radio. I hoped the upbeat tempo of the radio station would overcome my hesitation. No luck. I bounced my leg to the beat in order to shake him off slightly, but his fingers curled deeper around my skin. My only savior: bluntly lying. "Ross, both hands on the wheel! I refuse to die trapped in this car with you."

He removed his hand steadily like we had rehearsed this very situation. "Fine, but only because you're my first fan." I opened my mouth to deny it, but he cut me off. "I can't seem to finish the song though. It's missing something." He hit the steering wheel with his fist, "You." Me? Me? Me what? He's missing me? I felt my heartbeat thudding, but it was much more than that. I could feel each puncturing thud in my chest, drumming in my ears and punching up my throat with supreme pressure. I couldn't sit still anymore as I adjusted my seatbelt several times. "Are you okay?" I tried my best to control my body into a subtle nod. "Well as I was saying, you could listen to my song tonight and give me your feedback because you're so, so, um blunt and honest."

"Mmhm," I choked out. What the hell is wrong with you? I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. You're dying. That's the only explanation. Man, I wished I was.

Author's Note: Sorry guys, this chapter was more of Sierra still getting settled in this foster home, forming relationships, and figuring out what she is feeling. Next chapter will be more exciting!

(Unedited and I didn't even go back and reread it. I'll be sure to go over it soon)