THE AIRPORT WAS a place that Sam didn't want to be. It was cramped with people, their bodies moving around Sam far too quickly for her to even see the colors they'd been wearing. They'd been bumping into her all morning and she used all of her money to buy peanuts. So, she didn't have anything to drink and her mouth was dry.

The bright side was because of her soccer ball rolling around beneath her foot, she could extend her legs, lean back and fall asleep. She'd woken up far too early and Mike hadn't been here waiting there when they arrived— that's not how it always worked, Jonathan told her—so, she decided to take a brief nap.

   Briefly, as she fell in between consciousness and unconsciousness, she saw Will searching for Mike in glee and El smiling so hard she could've broken her teeth. Sam wiped the corners of her mouth, and stared at the people leaving the plane.

   She squinted her eyes and seen what she thought was a dad on vacation; was actually Mike. He stood taller over most people, curly dark hair to his shoulders, a weird hat on along with sunglasses. He wore a yellow button up, short sleeved shirt that was opened to reveal the dark colored top beneath and green shorts that fell to his knees.

   "Mike." El stood, grabbing his attention. He smiled and the two sprinted towards each other and collided in a much awaited kiss. They hugged afterwards, just as Johnathan, Argyle, Will and Sam stood to join the two.

   They talked for a few moments, where Mike gave El some flowers. Sam was still trying to wake up from her nap, running her hands through her hair tiredly. She blew her breath, and stood next to Will, who was holding a rolled up painting. He was just as happy as El, if not more, as he waited for Mike to greet him.

   Sam had noticed that Will had been painting a lot more lately. More so on the thing in his hands currently. She presumed that it'd been for Mike now that she'd seen it, but she remembered El telling her that maybe it was for someone he liked. Maybe, El was wrong?

   El eventually stood next to Mike, allowing him to finally acknowledge the four standing there. He looked at Will first, and his voice shifted. "Oh. Oh. Hey. How you doing?" Mike and Will shared an somewhat awkward hug that made Sam glance between them.

   Jonathan nodded at Mike with a small smile. "Hey, Mike."

   Mike had done the same with Jonathan as he'd done with Will, minus the hug. Sam half expected Will to give Mike the tube in his hand but as she watched him, she noticed that his mood was dimming and he smile was getting smaller and smaller. She frowned and shifted her body onto her soccer ball.

   "Hey, Sam." Mike said. He glanced at her hair for a moment. "I like your hair."

   Sam smiled up at him. "Thanks. I like your..." she quickly glanced at his hair once more. "Hat." She shared a chuckle with Mike as he thanked her.

   "Great. Uh, what's that?" Mike looked towards the tube in Will's hands, curiously.

   Will met gazes with Sam for a moment before stammering out a response. "Um, it's nothing. Just this painting I've been working on."

   "Cool." Mike stared blankly at Will a moment longer. Sam huffed and scratched her head out of utter awkwardness. What is happening right now?

   "That's a rad shirt, man." Argyle spoke up. His red eyes stared directly toward Mikes shirt. Sam thought it'd looked boring but Argyle had also did some of the green stuff that turned into smoke. She figured he wasn't thinking straight. "Ocean Pacific?"

   "Oh. This is, my friend Argyle." Jonathan introduced, noticing mike's lost gaze.

   "Oh. Hey."

   Argyle didn't say hello back, he just surged forward and wrapped Mike in a hug. Which was a trick to look at Mike's tag on the back of his shirt. "Oh, no, no, no. No, it's a shitty knockoff. Yeah." Argyle confirmed rather loudly. Sam snorted, but covered it up with a cough. "But don't sweat it. I'll get you the good threads out here."

   A beat passed. "I heard a lot about your sister." This seemed to be the best way to break the ice with Mike for Argyle. Sam curled her lips in a 'o' and blinked.

   "Uh." Jonathan stammered as Mike's eyes widened. Jonathan cleared his throat, suddenly nervous under mike's gaze. "O-Okay. Um, should we go?"

   "Yeah, this is kinda awkward, man."

Sam agreed with a nod of her head while rolling the soccer ball underneath her feet.

   "Yeah, so awkward." Mike agreed as he put his arm around El's shoulders and began walking. As they neared the exit of the airport, El started talking about the plans for the day. As she listed off things with Mike occasionally adding his own input, he soon asked about her friends.

   Sam perked up at the question and tried to listen in for her answer, curious herself. El never allowed Sam to even see her friends, much less meet them. This could've been her chance.

   "Friends? What. . . What friends?" Will objected. El smacked Will's chest with her flowers gifted from Mike. Sam furrowed her eyebrows.

   "You know, Stacy and Angela." El stared at Will with a certain knowing glint in her eye that made Sam feel as though she was missing something.

   Will slowed his pace. "Angela?"

   El turned to Mike once again, refusing to meet Sam's stern gaze. "You'll meet them, I promise. Just not today. I want today to be about me and you." Mike smiled down at El and kissed her head tenderly.

   Sam nearly grimaced. She was starting to miss Lucas more than she'd planned to. His parents wouldn't let him travel alone and Sam wouldn't want him to. He said he was on the basketball team, and he had games. She was supportive and told him she'd be fine. Then, she told him about her being on the soccer team. She left out the part about her only having only played during the practices.

[][][]

   Sam liked Rollar Skating. She was bad but she thought she was getting the hang of it. Joyce helped her last time and told her she had to learn how to balance herself. She was still learning, but it was fun. Seeing people in the skating rink, rolling around, made her smile.

She went to thank the girl, when she'd seen Dana standing to the side with Dylan, talking aimlessly about who knows what. Dana was flinging her arms around as she talked, chewing gum with her mouth open, which let Sam see more than she wanted.

In the moment, ice ran through her veins. Her stomach churned painfully as though she had been stabbed in the abdomen. Others around were there, talking, laughing, but it sounded like a distant memory to Sam. It all sounded like gibberish, a different language that she hadn't caught on to.

Dana was dressed in the rink's work uniform, as well as Dylan. He had his back turned to Sam, but she could see him drinking something. Dana's curly hair was up in a bun, gold star earrings hanging from her ears. Dana hadn't even been turned around for Sam to recognize her. She'd know that voice anywhere, even if knowing it so well was against her will.

Quickly, hoping to remain unseen, Sam turned around without thanking the girl and practically floated her way towards Will's side. She hid her body next to his and flattened her hair to her shoulders. They didn't see me. Sam huffed, trying to loosen her tense shoulders. They didn't see me. I'm fine.

   "Bitchin', right?" El beamed up at Mike, who was staring at the rink with interest. No one had noticed Sam's moment of absence, and she was glad for it.

   "Yeah, Bitchin'. Do you come here a lot?"

   "Yeah."

   "No."

   The three siblings spoke in sync, but only two of them had told the truth. Sam and Will looked at El confusedly and Mike glanced at them strangely. El looked at them accusingly but said nothing to them directly. Sam tried to justify El's reason lying about the rink but she couldn't find one. Mike surely hadn't been a party person, Sam could tell that much. Why would he care about wether or not she went to parties?

   "Sam and Will do not, but I go to parties here. It's a big party place." El lied. Sam pressed her lips together tightly but said nothing. Sam squeezed her skates to her chest tighter, walking alongside Will felt as though he was her body guard. She was thankful for his growth spurt, or maybe her own height. Will rolled his eyes and let the skates in his hands drop to his sides lazily.

   The four sat down on a block, and began putting on their rollerblades. El glanced down at Mike's bare feet in his flip flops. Sam had nearly stepped on them once or twice in the van, which was why she was sent to the back. "Oh, I forgot. You need socks."

   "Oh, shit." Mike glanced between them, apparently thinking he could stick his bare foot in the roller skate. Sam grimaced at the thought.

   "They sell them at the counter." Will told Mike and he nodded. He got up to go get them. Sam continued sliding off her shoes while Will leaned closer to El, almost like he was waiting for an excuse to talk to El alone.

   "How'd you forget about the socks? I mean, since you come here all the time." Will said. Sam looked up at El and watched her eyes look between the two of them. For a second, Sam looked at the place they'd gotten their skates from and she saw Dana turned towards them now, only her eyes were on Dylan doing something stupid. Sam's heart nearly stopped.

She leaned back. She inhaled strongly through her nose, and quietly out her mouth. That's what the principal told her to do in case she felt threatened. "Calm down," Sam remembered his condescending tone, trying the soothe her a guidance councilor kind of way but failing terribly. "You'll get out of your own head if you just take a minute to breathe."

   It was kind of working. She didn't see me.

   "I. . . I don't know. I just forgot." El inferred. Sam narrowed her eyes on her sister from her leaned back position. El met her gaze, something stirring behind her brown eyes, causing Sam to frown.

   "Or you never knew in the first place. That is fine." Sam reassured, staring at El. She presumed El was just trying to impress Mike. Sam could understand the feeling if she wasn't filled with anxiousness. If Lucas were here right now, Sam would've wanted to show off her soccer skills she'd learned. Lucas would've probably done the same but with his basketball.

   She was beginning to miss him all over again. He was easy to talk to. He was fun to be around, so fun that she could forget who she was when she was with him. She needed to forget who was she was for a while. He made her feel okay with who she was, and despite her willingness to forget who she was or who she'd been, Lucas embraced her.

   "Why do you keep lying?" Will inquired, entirely disregarding about putting his skates on. Sam already had one of hers on.

   "What?"

   "Why do you keep lying to Mike?"

   "I'm not lying." El denied solemnly. Sam glanced between Will and El, sensing the happy mood drop off the side of a building. She pursed her lips at the two. She felt as though she definitely had missed out on something. She just wasn't sure what.

   "You're not? You're friends with Angela and Stacey and you come to parties here?"

   "Wait," Sam paused her actions. "Which... are those both lies?"

   The two continued, barely fazed by Sam's confusion. They hadn't batted an eye. El almost looked her way but it was like she was forcing herself to stay focused.

   "I have been to a party here." El claimed, defensively.

   "For Mom's work. That's not what you implied." Will remonstrated. Sam frowned at Will's obvious disdain. "I just. . . I don't think Mike's gonna like that you're lying to him. And he doesn't deserve that. When he finds out, he's gonna be mad."

   El wasn't looking at Will anymore. She was staring at the floor guiltily, fumbling with the end of her dress. Sam pressed her lips together, and moved to go comfort her. She figured El felt guilty enough as it is, and maybe she just needed some kind of assurance that Mike wouldn't be that mad and that he'd understand.

If not, then Sam could accidentally— on purpose, but that's a secret—kick her soccer ball towards Mike's stomach.

   But, Mike came back and planted himself in between El and Will, where he'd been at first and Sam lost the courage. She started to tie her shoe laces on the skates, probably tying them tighter than they had to be. "I asked for vomit green and I got vomit green. Isn't that awesome?" Mike asked in awe, oblivious to the ruined mood.

   Soon, the four joined the people in the rink. Sam tried to stay by Will's side and cheer him up. He seemed so gloomy, and she kept catching him stare at Mike and El. She barely could hold a conversation with him, let alone get his attention. And it didn't change. His mood never shifted and he would plaster on a fake smile if she told him a joke. The only time he'd genuinely laughed was when Sam said it looked like Mike might knock someone over.

   It was small but it was something. After a while, Sam sighed and gave up. She stayed by his side. Figuring she was better off with him than without.

[][][]

   Sam sat next to Will, across from Mike and El as they tried each other's milkshakes. Sam claimed she hadn't been that thirsty and ended up not getting one. The truth was that she'd seen Dylan at the register and had figured the best way to avoid him was to avoid drinking or eating anything.

   Although, occasionally, she sipped Will's when he wasn't looking. She feigned innocence while playing with a straw but once he turned his head or got lost in his thoughts, she'd sipped from said straw. He had good taste. Although, she was sure he had caught her the third time, he hadn't said anything.

   Sam was clenching her fists, getting goosebumps when the searing pain would send waves of it up to her wrist. She'd almost forgotten about it until she saw what caused it. Now, it felt engraved in her skin. Every time she moved, it ached. She heard it screaming at her, reminding her that if she still had her abilities, she would've been able to get rid of Dana and Dylan.

It's your fault. Nothing she could do, fighting or not, would get them to leave her alone. You're always doing something.

   "Milkshakes?" A unfamiliar voice drawled from behind Will and Sam. Sam scooted closer to Will as the girl proceeded to lean over the table. "Yum." She ignored Sam as she stared intently at Mike. "Where, oh where have you been hiding this handsome thing?"

   El seemingly shaken by the person's sudden appearance, glanced at Mike who was dumbfounded by the stranger. "Uh," There was a quick glance towards Sam, who was looking the girl up and down, along with the two people behind her that was crowding her area. "Angela, thi... this is Mike, my boyfriend."

   Sam cleared her throat when El had forgotten to introduce her. El refused to look at Sam, and she didn't introduce her either. Sam frowned, bluntly pressing the back of her hand against her thigh. She is embarrassed of me.

   Angela looked at Mike with a sickly sweet smile. "Angela. Pleasure." She held out her hand for him to shake.

   Angela didn't bat an eye towards Sam or Will. She stayed focused on the couple in front of them. El looked sadder than before, somehow like Will. Even though just moments before, she'd been smiling. Sam glanced over at Angela's friends and narrowed her eyes as they stared at the interaction with smirks of their own.

   Beside her, Sam felt Will tense up. He was, too, looking at El with a knowing expression. She felt worse than before now. Now, she knew something was wrong. And when Angela and her friends left, she'd get it out of Will or El. One way or another.

   "Heard a lot about you. It's really cool to finally meet some of El— Jane's friends." Mike caught himself, politely shaking Angela's hands briefly.

   The trio of friends behind Angela laughed as though that was the funniest joke of the century. They glanced amongst each other, whispering. "Friends?" Angela let out an airy chuckle. "Yeah. Super cool. Come on, friend. Let's skate, shall we?"

   Sam furrowed her brows as she saw Will looking between the group and El with a weary expression.

   "I wanted to finish—" El was interrupted by one of the boys behind Sam.

   "I'll hold on to that." He said, taking the cup away from El. Right after, Angela abruptly pulled El out of her seat. The two began skating towards the main floor, leaving Mike, Will and Sam alone.

   Sam stood up afterwards, staring intently at El being pulled onto the rink. Her stomach filled with the urge to get El and bring her back to their booth. Maybe, she could. She could get El, and El would explain why she was so sad around her friends and she would tell Sam that it was just something silly. Nothing Sam had to worry about.

In the midst of her inner thoughts, Sam started taking off her roller skates. She would certainly slip and fall if she went onto the rink with them on. She wasn't sure how well she'd do with just socks but at least they weren't rolling her across the floor. Just as she tuning back into her surroundings, finally tuning in to Will and Mike's conversation, she felt arms around her shoulders.

She tensed at the strawberry perfume wafting up her nose. She saw me. "Hey, Rosetta." Dana cooed into Sam's ear, ticking the sides of her face. She hooked her arms around Sam's neck. On the outside, it looked friendly, as though a friend was hugging a friend but Sam could feel the tight grip Dana had around her neck.

"Wanna take a walk with me?"

   Sam took off her other roller skate and stood, letting Dana's arms stay around her neck to make it seem like they were friends. She saw Will and Mike talking—it looked more like debating— but Sam couldn't hear them since Dana was dragging her away.

   Once they were out of hearing distance, Dana yanked her arms off of Sam's shoulders and gripped her fingernails into her arm. Sam winced upon the contact and tried to pull her arm away put Dana's nails were like claws, sunken in.

   "Rosetta, I think we need to have a talk." Dana led Sam into a dark corner of the rink. Sam looked past Dana to see El, and saw El being circled. Sam's mouth upturned into a snarl, worry and anger flashing across her face. El was covering her ears, and when Sam saw the tears, her chest ached.

   Dana pressed down roughly onto Sam's bruised hand, causing the dark haired girl to let out a pained hiss. "Looking at your freak sister isn't gonna help you," Dana dropped Sam's hand carelessly. "Listen to me. You want Dylan and I to leave you alone? Fine. I'll do you one better, quit the team and we'll never look your way again."

   "She's not a freak." Sam said, gritting her teeth. She attempted to side step Dana but failed when Dana scoffed and blocked her way.

   Dana's eyes filled with annoyance, eyes glittered with something strong. "She is. And so are you. You think that you're so much better than me, don't you? You think the team likes you? They don't. The coach? She pities you. You replaced me. The team needed me but instead they found you. A friendless, weird freak with shoes too big for her and clothes that look like they came from the lost and found."

   Sam tried to blink back the stinging sensation behind her eyes but she was failing. El was being circled by vultures, shouting obscene things to her. She briefly could see Mike trying to get the person playing the music to stop, and Sam could see Dylan in the booth, mocking Mike's attempts.

   Sam felt like she was losing something. Her stomach was filled with thorns, and usually, she could ignore them, but now they were forcefully trying to dig themselves out. Her mind was jumbled, and all she could think about was her sister somehow. Save El! Save El! Save El!

   It didn't feel like she was talking to herself. She was pleading. The form of fear making her breathing labored, and had filled her stomach with thorns. Torn between trying to save El but digesting Dana's words. She wasn't a hero. A hero saved people, put innocent lives before their own. And all Sam could manage to think about was the Russians she'd killed last year. The lab doctors she'd killed in a fit of anger.

   You're a murderer.

   Dana blocked her view again, eyebrows raised in a threatening manner. She glanced back at El, and smirked as she faced Sam again. "You're not saving the day by stealing my spot as the goalie the I earned. You're not gonna go and save that girl because you won't be stopping anything. Angela will just keep doing it. She hates her and I'm starting to see why, actually. You two act the same."

   Sam gritted her teeth together. Still, Dana continued. "You two act like you're some kind of helpless victims, some kind of innocent little girls that can't do anything remotely wrong. Well, that's where you're the idiot! I see it! I see you. So, stop trying to act like some damn hero." With each sentence, Dana jabbed her finger into Sam's shoulder until the very last sentence where she'd pushed Sam into the wall.

   Sam's back hit the wall with a rough thump and she grimaced. She watched as Dana eyes showed recognition as though she remembered something, and a smile formed on her pink lips. It was as though she knew something Sam didn't, and that made the thorns tear flesh.

   "I guess thinking you're a hero is something you got from your dad, huh? Y'know, "saving" everyone in that dumbass mall fire and getting himself killed?"

   A flash of something white stung inside her chest. It struck her suddenly, like hot water jumping from the boiling pot or the delayed reaction of walking through a spider web. If she hadn't been leaning against the wall, her legs would've given out beneath her. The tears finally fell over, sliding down the roundness of her face and landing. . . on Dana's chin?

   It'd taken two men, yanking and pulling on her body, a older women trying pry Sam's hands from around Dana's throat, and Will and Mike's pleading to get Sam off of Dana to get her mind to focus on the things around her. Her hearing faded from the ringing into the gasps, whispers and demands surrounding her.

   It'd occurred to Sam that her throat was itchy, burning even, only to realize that it was because of her hysterical screaming and kicking in the one of the men's arms. He had her in the air, while Dana was receiving help from under her. Sam tried to quiet herself but it was like she wasn't in control. She didn't even know what she was screaming about until she saw the look of horror on Dana's bloodied face.

   Still, it was too much for her head to wrap around. The arms around her waist were beginning to feel like she was she being tied down, restricting the air in her lungs and holding her hostage. She flung her head back repeatedly until she found a head to connect with, and she could hear the grumbled sound of a groan and the arms let go of her completely.

   As soon as her knees landed on the ground, she scurried to her feet like a deer running from it's predator and soon her legs were pumping her through the crowd and out of the center. No one made a move to stop her, and she wasn't sure what she'd gain from it. Probably more blood on her knuckles.

[][][]

   Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. You're such a—

   "Sam?"

   She'd know that voice anywhere. Instead of it's usual lightness, it was coated in emotion, and a sniffle followed after. Sam furrowed her eyebrows and stopped her pacing, letting her hair fall into her face instead of the pushed back style it was in moments before when she was running her hands through it.

   El. El. El was crying. Sam's mind searched for the reason, fists tightening for a moment until she remembered the rink. The circling, the girls, the music, what they were saying.

   Sam's fists fell to her sides, and she turned to face El, in the corner of the closet. Her knees were scrunched up to her chest, tears still falling down her cheeks. There was a brown substance staining her dress, and some droplets of said liquid on her neck. Sam' lips curled in distaste, and hid her anger by replacing it with slow steps toward her sister.

   She reached El, and knelt down to comfort her. She lifted her hand up, to soothe her with gentle touches as she'd seen Joyce do, but she saw blood staining her knuckles. She looked down at her hands and seen both of her knuckles were caked in blood. She grimaced. She patted El's shoulder, before deciding to rub her back.

   The less El saw of her hands, the better.

   "What-" A sniffle. "What're you doing in here?" El squinted at Sam. She leaned closer, the remnants of tears shimmering under the spared bolt of light from outside. "Why are there scratches on your face?"

   Sam frowned. Momentarily, Sam hadn't understood what she meant. Until, she'd taken a moment to feel and stop her movements. She could feel the sting of the cool air against the small rips of skin. There were many on the side of her face, a rather large one trailing from her eyebrow to the middle of her nose. Sam felt that one more than any others, wincing when she touched it.

   Sam hadn't noticed them when she ran away. Barely noticed them when she'd been given them, but now that she had, she'd realized something. She'd broken her promise to El. She'd lied to her, and Will. Her chest seemed to get smaller as she remembered how she'd told Joyce she'd try. Sam gulped, trying to swallow her tears with her guilt. On top of everything else, she was a liar.

   El opened her mouth again, no doubt planning to ask Sam more questions, but Sam narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing in here? Who are those girls, really? Why didn't you tell me about how they were treating you?"

   Seemingly have forgotten the actions from earlier, El's eyes filled with tears once again. This time, she tried to hold them back. Sam, a repeated pattern for her today, frowned and leaned forward to wrap her arms around El.

   It didn't take long, or any time really, before El returned the embrace by wrapping her arms around Sam's waist. Sam felt the tears wetting her shoulder. She also felt the wetness sliding down her own face now, wetting El's shoulders as her sister did the same to her.

   Sam couldn't remember the last time she'd hugged El. She'd understood that over time, she'd begun to grow uncomfortable with someone even so much as tapping her on the shoulder, but she didn't realize that hugging El was something she'd miss. Somehow, hugging El conveyed more words than Sam could possibly muster up.

   "I'm a mouth-breather." Sam whispered, tears falling down her fast faster than she'd like. The room was silent. She could hear the people outside, laughing, or gossiping about the big commotion that had happened earlier. Wether they were talking about El or Sam, she couldn't decipher. And she was glad. She heard El sniffle, and shake her head against her shoulder. Soon, she pulled away.

   El glanced down at her hands, nervously fidgeting. She opened her mouth, but stopped once the people outside neared them, their voices becoming clearer. El stood, slowly stepping towards the window of the room. The blinds were closed, but El peeled through them anyway, causing Sam's eyes to widen.

   "El?" Sam stood quickly, hurrying to try and convince her to get away from the window. She wasn't sure how long they'd have to hide out in here, but she didn't want their time to be cut even shorter from getting caught. Sam nearly tripped over something— a jacket— and she bit back a groan. She pulled down her dark blue sleeves, covering her hands from El.

   Placing her face next to El's, she saw Angela and her group near them. They were looking at something on the camera, giggling and grinning like idiots. Sam glanced at El, seeing her eyes get smaller and her lips curl. Sam's hands bawled into fists, teeth gritting together. "El?" More tears fell from El's face, as Angela talked about her.

   Sam tried to control the ball of energy sucking the patience from her body and forming it into a coil of boiling anger. "El—"

   "Sam." El faced Sam with a familiar glint in her eyes. Sam shut her mouth, goosebumps running down her spine. Sam recognized that look anywhere. It was still sad, despite everything, but there was a twinkle of anger. More than a little, the brown eyes were filing with it by the second that passed. "I'm gonna fix it."

   There were times that Sam wished she could read her sister's mind like she'd done so many times before. Enter her mind slyly, like fully submerging herself into a pool of water or feeling herself sinking into the bed. But, there were moments where she didn't need to. Like now. Over time, Sam had learned to understand El's looks, mainly her eyes. El didn't usually lie, but if she did, if Sam looked hard enough, she could see it in the brown puddles called eyes.

   If only she'd done it sooner. If she'd talked to El before, neither of them would be in the predicament they were in now. If.

   If I was a better sister.

   Sam waited a moment before following El out the room. She grabbed a hoodie and slipped into it, cringing at the female sweet perfume wrapping around her in waves. It made her nauseous. But, it hid her well. She quickly dropped her hair from its ponytail and let the unwanted bangs cascade across her forehead, dropping into her face and covering her eyes.

   "Angela." El called out, approaching the group with a wavering voice but confident steps. Soon, she was joined by Sam, who had her arms crossed, dark eyes never leaving Angela.

   "Uh-oh. Look who it is." Angela cooed, smirking slightly. Angela finally acknowledged Sam with narrowing eyes. "I see you brought your psycho smelly sister with you."

   "Ooh, they look upset." One of of the boys said from the back. Sam glared at him, eyes burning holes into the side of his face if they could.

   "You ruined my day." El stated.

   "Oh no. Did we embarrass you in front of your boyfriend?" Angela chucked, staring uninterestedly at the two girls.

   "I want you to say sorry to me, and I want you to tell my boyfriend that it was just a joke and that we are real friends." El's voice, although filled with emotion, sounded as determined as ever. Even Sam wavered at her words, but stayed by her side.

   Angela's smile fell blank, eyes dull and narrowed in a glare. "Or what? You gonna hurt us with your mean stare again?" Angela held up her hand towards Sam and El, briefly causing Sam to furrow her eyebrows. Sam saw El shifted her weight on one food, embarrassed as clear as day but refused to even look at Sam.

   Angela retracted her arm, and burst into laughter in front of the two girls menacingly. The entire group laughed now, enthralled by the blonde girls words. Sam's gut retched painfully at the noise. Angela continued, talking through her chuckles. "Sorry you can't cry to teacher today. You'll just have to cry to your daddy instead. Oh, wait. Cant do that either."

   As the group walked away, Sam's feet hurriedly went to follow them, her fists out now, and clenched. She was stopped however. By El. Sam turned to her, eyes filled with a strong emotion that even Sam couldn't decipher. El let go of Sam, before looking at a kid putting his skates on.

   Before Sam could say anything, or do anything, El was moving. Sam watched her dumbly, as El snatched the skate out of the boys hands, to which he protested against. El strides towards the group now, Sam following behind her with a confused expression on her face.

   "Angela." El called out. Her voice changed, deepened with anger and a twist of something spiteful leaking through the name. Sam saw El tightened her hold onto the skate, watching ruefully as Angela and her group slowed to a stop and turned.

   Just as Angela turned, El reeled her arm back and smacked Angela with the skate. Immediately, Angela was knocked to the ground, while Sam hurriedly stood next to El. Angela's friends rushed to her aid, questioning if she was alright, before their eyes widened.

   Angela sat up, blood pooling down her nose, contrasting greatly against her pale skin. Angela touched the area, and let out a sob. More sobs followed after that, until the blonde haired girl was shrieking in pain. This caused bystanders to gather, staring at the teens with confusion until they saw what had happened.

   El looked down at the skate, a splatter of blood painted onto one of the wheels. Sam, on the other hand, stared down at Angela with a certain glint in her eye. When she'd seen the blood coating her face, Sam felt like she could breathe. And when Angela looked up at Sam and El, crying helplessly, Sam had to resist the urge to shut her up.

   The two girls were joined by Mike and Will. Sam didn't have to look up to see the bowl cut standing next to her, but glanced at him upon his words. "Oh, my god." Will's eyes flitted between the crying girl on the floor and Sam's bloodied knuckles.

A crowd started to gather. Albeit, farther from them in fear and weariness but the stares were more prominent then ever. Sam made the mistake of looking up, and saw a few people in the crowd, pointing at her in distaste, looking her up and down. She realized her hood had fallen down, and she hurriedly put it back up. It was too late, though.

She'd been seen. Now, the crowd gossiped about the two sisters. Sam could only imagine their words. She looked up again, and met eyes with a blue eyed snake. Dylan glared at Sam, and it felt like she was back in school, walking into the class late and sweaty because one of her team mates had locked her in the locker room again. He looked her up and down, as if sizing her up before spending the rest of the period picking on her about her smell and her attire.

The only difference now was that he was gazing between her and El. His mouth moved next to the girl beside him, not Dana but a dark skinned beauty, who's brown eyes were filled with concern and confusion. She didn't pay much attention to El, more so on Sam, eyes hardening when Sam met her gaze. Sam looked away, ashamed and annoyed.

   "Holy shit, El." Mike stared agape at the scene before him. "What did you do?" He looked at El again, her eyes filling with tears at what she'd done. "What did you do?"

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I know it's the eighties but I just don't see Lucas's parents allowing him to travel by himself, even with Mike. It's not happening guys😢