you better throw away that key;; opened

[parker lawrence]

before i find out where you broadcast from
because your play list is killing me

Classes had let out probably about half an hour ago. For the most part the students had all filed out of the building off to do their own things. Nobody wanted to hang around the school longer then they had to, or so that's how things usually seemed to go. There were always the few kids that would stay around after to try to get some extra work in or do their best to try to vandalize the building as best as they could. There were probably even those kids that were still near the back of the school lighting up thinking that they were the coolest kids in the world. Yes because getting high in the middle of the school day really did make you one of the coolest people on the face of this earth. It was just the thought of those kids that made Parker grin a bit shaking his head. He hadn't stayed after to try to get any sort of work done. He was actually doing pretty good in all of his classes at this moment in time and had no long term projects that he had to work on. Instead, he just wanted a bit of quiet. Living with his grandmother left barley any time for him to do what he wanted to do. Everything was either too loud or wasn't something that a nice boy would be doing. Either way it was like living under a microscope the moment he walked into her hermetically sealed house.

A fender acoustic that had been kept in the music office for most of the day was now being held in Parker's hand. The neck was gripped tight and the strap hung down near his ankles. As usual for most days a red Star Wars backpack hung on his shoulders. Yes he was a bit of a Star Wars geek, though not to an extreme. He simply liked the movies, but ask him a question about any of them and he'd probably just shrug a little bit and walk away saying that he had to go to the bathroom or something like that. Between his middle and pointer finger on the right hand there was a yellow pick sticking out. He'd been playing the guitar since probably about the end of seventh grade. It was one of those things that he'd simply taken too. Ever since then he's tried to learn the bass and drums, but never loved anything as much as he enjoyed playing his guitar. His most recent instrument to try to tackle had been the keyboard, though he wasn't getting very far. There really was something completely different about playing chords and melody at the same time that was taking his brain a little bit longer to figure out.

His feet, covered with the beaten up black converse as usual, soon lead him out to the Quad. It was a nice day out and he didn't see a point in hanging around inside. Really the only reason that he was still at school was that Parker didn't know where else to go. He wanted to play, but he preferred that people didn't hear him playing if it was just him. It made him feel like he was trying to show off when he played in the middle of a crowded area and that he wasn't trying to do. Really he was just trying to become a better guitar player and actually end up giving the band a better chance of taking off. That really was where all of his focus was recently. He was going to graduate soon well, he if he was going to turn down going to college, he wanted to be sure he was doing it to do something that wouldn't fail a month later.

In the quad, he looked around a bit satisfied to find that he was the only one around. With a little bit of a nod he made his way to one of the benches that were scattered about. On the bench he rested the guitar on his thigh. It really did fit perfectly there. This was one of the three guitars that he owned, but it was one of his favorites. This one was named Dennis. Parker was indeed the type of guy that named his instruments. He felt so much more connected with them the moment they were given a name. There really was something that was so much better about a guitar with a name then those without it. Whenever he met somebody that didn't name their guitars he simply shook his head. It made them seem so incredibly out of touch with what they were playing. Either that or he was just completely insane. Either way, this was Dennis and other then Cleopatra he was his favorite guitar. The moment he had sat down with the strap around his shoulders, he pulled a tuner from his pocket. After a quick tune up he let the pick fall between his fingers and strummed through the strings.

At first he really wasn't playing anything. Just doing some scales and chords. It wasn't that long until he had soon finished the small things off and was playing through well, one of a million songs that seemed to be constantly writing themselves in his mind. Slowly he started to let a few words come to mind, though his voice didn't join in just yet, the chords still had to be figured out.

[veronica williams]

outfit


Just get out of the way Veronica!! Veronica rolled her eyes as she looked over at her brothers. All of her brothers had been busy unpacking and right now, Veronica had refused to help unpack. Why would she want to? She hated it here already. She had to admit that she had liked it back in Australia though. Well of course she loved it in Australia, it was nice and warm and it was beautiful. But she didn't like her life there. But of course she didn't tell anybody that. Nobody needed to ask her if she liked it there. They already knew by the way she acted. By running away from her foster home three times, well it was kind of obvious to anybody. Even to people who didn't have an idea who the hell Veronica was. She had found her brothers at the park one night and they had all ran away to here. They had been here for a total of two hours and all Veronica had done was unpack one box that was really important to her. It contained her notebook full of lyrics and another full of her thoughts. But she also had a necklace from her one friend back in Australia. Mikey, her foster brother. He had given it to her right before she left. He was the only one who knew she was even here.

Veronica sighed and then went into her room where her guitar case was laying. She picked it up and put its strap over her shoulder so the guitar case was lying against her back. She then slipped the guitar pick necklace Mikey had given to her, around her neck and then she was out the door. Veronica was enrolled to go to this one school that looked kind of nice in a way. So she thought she'd go and check it out. See if anybody ever hung out there after school. But then again, who would hang out at school after words? Veronica was curious and she was going to find out just how many people stayed after. She had looked at the time on her way out and figured that school had let out a while ago. So she didn't have to worry about getting in trouble for not being in school. She'd go and just look around. Not even bother to talk to anybody she sees. Nobody would care anyways right? Veronica was just the new girl from Australia.

Veronica made her way slowly to wards the school. She only lived right down the road from it so it wasn't that far of a walk and she honestly didn't really mind all that much. It just meant that when her brothers were at work and her younger brothers were at school, she could just ditch school and go and sit at home writing new songs. She had always wanted to like start up a band or something like that. But she never knew anybody that wanted to and was actually good at music. Of course her twin brother was and they almost started up a band but that was when they had gotten taken away from their parents and they got sent away to different foster homes. It teared Veronica apart and she hated it. Now she had reunited with all four of her brothers. They had taken custody of Veronica and her two other two brothers. It made her happy but then she realized living with four guys was going to be pretty annoying but interesting in a way. Though she had a feeling that if she had brought home a guy they would all stare at him and then start asking zillions of unnecessary questions. That would just get Veronica pissed off.

As the petite girl made her way up to wards the school she heard a faint sound. It was beautiful and she instantly recognized it as a guitar playing the music. So she smiled a little and walked to wards the music. As she neared the music she saw a figure sitting not to far from her. Veronica bit down on her lip hoping that the boy wouldn't notice her watching him play. If he did he might think she was stalking him. That wouldn't be too good either considering well, she had just moved here and she didn't want to be considered a stalker just quite yet. So instead of hiding behind the tree she took her guitar case off her back and then sat it down behind the tree where he couldn't see it. She didn't like playing in front of others quite yet. Not until she knew she had enough confidence to and until she knew she was any good, she was just going to keep playing to herself in her room. That works perfectly fine for Veronica anyways. The only people who had actually ever heard her play her guitar have been her brothers and Mikey. Veronica had realized that if she had walked out with a guitar he'd probably ask to play with her or want to her hear her. So it would just be the best idea to just leave her guitar behind the tree out of sight.

Veronica made her way out from behind the tree and she let herself be seen. She walked closer to the boy and smiled a little not wanting to interupt him from his music. She lifted her hand to the necklace around her neck as she smiled and watched patiently for him to finish the song. Your very good. She complimented before she looked at him giving him a soft smile and then sitting down on the ground. Then she looked up at the sky and then looked back at the boy awaiting some kind of response from him. Though she didn't even know if he would give her one. He could very well just nod and continue on with his playing. If he did that, then she'd just go and find somewhere else to play like by a lake or something if she could find one around here. No point in talking to someone who doesn't want to talk to you right?

[parker lawrence]

before i find out where you broadcast from
because your play list is killing me

Chords, they were simple, but it was amazing to Parker how simply pairing them up with a few others could make a song. Sure, it wasn't that interesting of a song as of this moment in time. there still needed to be a lead guitar part figured out as well as a bass line or something like that, but all the same the beat and chords sounded good together. Perhaps one day this would become more of a song. It would be something to talk over with Rupert. Parker liked to believe that the two were a team and certain days it seemed like they never did anything apart. Sure Parker could make decisions on what to wear without the male, but too much more than that didn't seem to work out. No, he wouldn't say he couldn't live without the male, but it would take a while to get the swing of things without his best friend lurking about.

He really was so absorbed in his song right now that he wouldn't realize if anything was going on around him. If the school suddenly burst into flames due to some sort of a chemistry experiment gone wrong and anybody left was running around in circles with their pants on fire he probably wouldn't realize it. Instead his eyes were glued on the fret board that he was holding in his left hand. Fingers switched position time after time. A small smile moved over his face as he let the music wash over him. Perhaps he was a little bit too into music sometimes. It probably wasn't healthy that the world could start to explode now and he'd be one hundred percent content with the way his life was going at this moment. Music wasn't all that was going good these days though. Nope, it seemed as though everything in life was just going the way that it should. Things are far as friends went were all going completely amazingly.

He finally decided that things really were going to be good enough. It was with a small grin that he let his hand fall from the frets and he looked up hearing somebody say he was good. As said, he really didn't know what was going on in the world around him. This girl's presents had gone completely unnoticed for the time she was standing there, he just hoped it wasn't that long. A small smile graced his features as he looked at the girl glad to know that his music was well liked. It would be horrible if something he thought sounded so amazing really didn't sound that amazing to anybody else. It would also mean that he probably needed to get his hearing checked. Spending too much time in front of an amp probably wasn't good for one's ears. Still, it wasn't a bad thing at all, this girl liked his song so he was ecstatic, even if it technically a song in his mind yet. Of course he didn't get a chance to speak before she went and took a seat on the ground. He would have happily moved over on the bench to give her a little bit more room if she'd let him, but that hadn't happened, so he wasn't going to offer now, well, at least before he thanked her.

After flipping the pick over in his fingers he looked at her once more. "Thanks," he said with pretty much the same smile that had yet to leave his lips. "It's just something I'm fooling around with," he said with a small shrug. "But i've been playing for ages," he said before deciding it would be best to shut up. Really he wasn't sure exactly what had caused him to keep talking on and on like that. It was with a small laugh that he looked at his feet not really sure what else he could say. "You don't have to sit on the ground. I don't nee to take this entire bench up," he said laughing a little bit once more before he ran a hand through his hair for a short moment. 'I'm Parker, you new around here?" he asked coming to the realization that he'd never seen this girl before in his life.

A new person. Parker always tried to do his best to be friends with the new kids. Once upon a time Parker had been a new guy. It was at the beginning of high school though, so everybody seemed willing to accept new people then. Now he was a senior and he realized that sometimes it was a bit harder to get into the clicks that had formed, so he did his best to welcome in people he thought all of his friends would get along with. He didn't want to invite in somebody that nobody was going to like. Anyway, if this was a new girl he'd do what he could to make her feel welcomed, though if it wasn't he'd simply feel like a loser that doesn't even know who the people that attend his school are. Either way it wouldn't be too different of a feeling for Parker.

[veronica williams]

Veronica had been playing the guitar since she was about eight years old. It was a few years before she had gotten sent off to her foster home. She had been aloud to only take a few things with her and sure enough instead of taking all her toys she had, she had chosen her notebooks and her guitar simply. They would last and had memories. Toys came and went and didn't have much value to her. But her notebooks had memories in them. There was tear stained pages in both notebooks as she wrote about her life. There was a blood streaked page that she had written about when she had cut herself for the first time when she was thirteen. She's been cutting on and off now for about three years and she didn't mind all that much. Veronica had learned that the pain goes away when she cuts. Of course it just brings new pain but it does get her to forget about her problems. Thats when she had started up on drugs and drinking. Partying too hard and loosing her virginity at age thirteen. It wasn't a life most sixteen year olds had when they were that age. Most of the stuff in her notebooks though contained song lyrics and her thoughts. Some contained drawings and she was proud of them. Proud of something for once in her life.

Veronica hadn't had much confidence in her life other then when shes high or had too much to drink. That was because she had lost control over herself and wasn't able to control her thoughts and her actions. Thats one disadvantage of drinking so much. But another one was letting guys take advantage of her when she was drunk. Thats a thing she's trying to cut down on due to the pain she'd had from guys in the past. When she was thirteen she was really weak, she still is but has gained some kind of strength. But when she was still so weak she could barely push a guy bigger than her away, she had been taken advantage of many times. She cringed a little at the memory of one day when she was at her moms visiting and on her way back to her foster home she had been attacked by a boy. he had taken her back to his house and did things people couldn't even imagine. It was terrible. Veronica prayed every night for the past month that nothing would happen like that again. So far she's been lucky. God loved her and gave her her wish to never be hurt. But Veronica still wondered how long all this would last. Would she ever get hurt again? She thought she would eventually.

Veronica nodded a little at the boy as he thanked her. Thats cool. I played since I was seven or eight. Veronica didn't know why she had just told him that because now she was starting to worry that he'd want to hear her play the guitar. She had an excuse now. She could say that her guitar was back at home and it was the only one she could play. Which that was a total lie. Veronica could play almost any guitar she wanted to, but he didn't know that. But if he did ever see her with her guitar, then she'd probably try and play for him. But she didn't want to. She didn't think she'd ever want to. She'd eventually play for someone though. Maybe if she did play for someone other than her brothers, than she'd gain more confidence. Though she really wasn't too sure if she would or not. But it was worth a shot right? Veronica made a mental note to herself to go home and practice for about an hour or two to see if she could be any good at it. Good enough to perform for someone other than family. Then she had a thought, was this boy like her? Not wanting to play in front of people but she had found him anyways? Veronica shook her head. Nah, he was too good to be like Veronica.

Veronica then laughed slightly at him and shook her head. Nah, I'm fine down on the ground. She told him with a small smile. She honestly didn't mind sitting there all that much. It was kind of comfortable and she was used to sitting on the ground. Especially when she played her guitar. Back in Australia she'd go and sit in the grass down the street from her foster home next to the lake. She'd play there for hours since nobody went down there hardly any more since they had the ocean. So it was really the perfect place to play. Well for her at least. Veronica thought for a moment and then picked at the grass for a moment as she bit down on her bottom lip. Not to hard though, she had learned her lesson on that a while back. She had bitten down on her lip a little too hard that it started bleeding. But that still happens, actually quite often really. It was just a nervous habit of Veronica's. She chewed on her bottom lip around new people or when she was nervous, which happend quite often actually since people made her nervous easily and thats just how Veronica was. Nervous.

Veronica sighed softly, she knew she'd be getting asked these questions quite often around here now. But instead of going into detail she nodded simply. Yea, I just moved here a few hours ago actually. Veronica had actually thought that he would notice that she wasn't from around here because of her thick Australian accent. But then again, she could just be faking it. She wasn't though. She couldn't get rid of the accent if she tried. Veronica put on a small smile as he introduced himself. It was nice to know someone else here now so she didn't have to be the total new girl tomorrow in school. Veronica was also pretty sure he went to this school, considering he was sitting outside of the school on a bench. Nice to meet you Parker, I'm Veronica. She told him with her thick Australian accent. One of the few things she actually still had to remind her of her home.

[parker lawrence]

before i find out where you broadcast from
because your play list is killing me

Being the new kid had never been all that bad for Parker. Sure it had been a bit weird the first day he arrived looking into a house that he'd visited only once or twice before, Lucy preferred to visit them. It had taken him years to figure out why they never visited his grandmother, but then he figured it out. His grandmother hated the idea of children and teenagers in her place. It was the biggest pain ever and probably one of the freakiest things about his first day at her house. He had started to unpack and asked where to put his things and she told him that it all had to stay in his room, which had once been his mother's room. It wasn't until after he'd put his boxes full of random shit into his room that he figured out how hungry he was, but much to his dismay there was no food that he considered edible in his grandmother's fridge. So, he wondered into town. That was probably the scariest moment that he was in when he was the new kid, the time he was in town realizing that no familiar faces were going to pass him by, realizing that he wasn't going to meet any of his friends. It was a few hours later that he was wondering around with his soon to be best friend. So really, he never was without friends for that long and never felt unaccepted here, but it still was a weird feeling to be the new kid in his mind.

He looked at this girl and grinned a bit. At first he hadn't realized it, but not he was beginning to realize that she had an accent. Call him slow or stupid, he didn't care really. Now whether it was Australian or British he couldn't tell. In his mind both sounded almost completely alike and he didn't plan on asking. In his mind it would eventually come up in conversation and if it didn't, then he'd just learn to live with not actually knowing. He wasn't that curious of a person that he wanted to ask this girl a million and one questions about where she came from. If she was anything like Parker then talking about it was just awkward, especially when it came to explaining that his parents are insane and believe he was going to start breaking into houses. He'd learned the hard way what happens when you tell somebody that straight off the bat.

He nodded a bit when the girl said she was fine on the ground. Well, if that was the case, then he'd be happy to take up the rest of the bench, though he did hope she wasn't just being nice. It was with a small nod that he moved the guitar so that it was laying on the bench next to him. "Wow, since you were eight?" he asked doing the math for a moment. Of course he wasn't super accurate since he didn't know how old this girl was, but that was a pretty good amount of time. "I've only been playing since I was like thirteen or twelve," he said not entirely sure anymore. If he was at home though, he'd give you the exact date. For some reason or another he'd kept the receipt for the guitar when he got it and as soon as he realized that this was something he wanted to do for the rest of his life he'd framed it. Yes, it was a bit obsessive, but that was just the way that Parker felt when it came to his music. "You must be pretty good," he said with a small nod. No, he wasn't going to ask her to play his guitar, seeing as hers didn't seem to be around. He knew how certain people felt about sharing their music with random strangers and didn't want to force her into something she didn't want to do.

He scratched his head looking around a bit. It wasn't that he was nervous or anything like that, Parker was just a fidgety sort of guy. Sometimes it seemed like he was never going to stop moving. He nodded a bit watching her. So, he was going to be to this girl what Rupert was to him, though he doubted it would evolve into the same relationship. If it did end up doing that however, he'd be sort of confused and just not sure about things. Plus, it would probably serve to create vast amounts of confusion within Parker's already overloaded brain. "Well, I don't know if I'm the first one that you've met her, but let me be welcome you here, it's a cool place with awesome people. Hopefully you like it here," he said with a small smile. He nodded a bit before turning to her. "Oh ya, and nice to meet you too," he said with a laugh. He really wasn't good with this sort of thing. Parker was the type of guy that would just forget what he should be saying and keep talking about some random branch that was shaped in an interesting way. "You going to be going to this school?" he asked pointing to the building behind him.

[veronica williams]

Veronica didn't know how people would react to her being the new girl at school. She didn't know if they'd all stare at her like a complete idiot or if they'd just ignore her completely. She wanted to know desperately but she knew she'd just have to wait until tomorrow to find out if she'd ever make any other friends. As far as this conversation with Parker was going, well it was pretty good so far I suppose. Though they hadn't really said anything. But he was being really nice and he seemed like someone Veronica would want to get to know better. Was he a new kid here as well at one point? Or has he lived here since birth. She didn't know why but he looked like he was pretty much someone who would live here for quite a while. Though she couldn't be for sure since she knew nothing about the boy sitting right in front of her. Of course she knew his name and that he played the guitar. But other than that, that was about it. Maybe if things go well this afternoon, he'd want to get to know her better and they could talk one day.

Veronica then nodded a little and bit down on her lip. Was she good? She thought she was a little good. But no where as near as good as Parker was. I guess, My foster brother taught me when I was eight. Veronica shrugged a little and then sat back in the grass, leaning on her hands that were held out behind her, supporting her light weight. The only reason she was this small and skinny was because she was indeed anorexic. She eats little things every once in a while. Like, she'd eat a salad once a week. A few bites everyday. So she doesn't pass out sometimes she'll binge a little for her friends. Well more like her brothers considering she has no friends other than her brothers. But other than that, her brothers don't really know that Veronica doesn't eat all that often. She found no use to tell them considering she has too many other problems to worry about. Like cutting and the drugs. Her life is a total mess right now and she is going to clean it up really quickly here, as soon as she gets settled into the city. It seemed like the perfect plan, well for her at least.

Veronica nodded a little and looked up at Parker amazed. He looked to be around her age, maybe a year or two older than her, but from what she got from him being thirteen or twelve when he started, well thats only a few years. You really are amazing. Do you play a lot? She asked curiously. Veronica had been in a band, well a small band back in Australia. It was just her and her brother Mikey and one of his friends. His friend was the drummer and Veronica had been the lead singer/guitar player. Mikey had been the bassist of the band and back up vocals. They made their own songs together but the ones that Veronica had written alone, well she never brought those out. She knew they weren't good enough for the band. Besides, the band wasn't big at all. It was just one of those guitar bands. They played in Mikey's friends garage every night after school. They never even thought about going and playing in front of anybody because they knew how afraid Veronica was and then Veronica had been taken away from that foster home after she ran away one day.

Veronica looked up at the building that Parker was pointing at. She was going to go here. Well thats what her brother told her anyway. She just assumed that she would go here anyways since it was a high school and because it was right down the road from her house. So why wouldn't it make sense? Yeah I am. I live right down there. She pointed down the road towards her house. She only lived a few blocks away really. It was a nice house that she liked, it was one that she liked a lot more than when she lived in those foster homes anyways. It had three bedrooms in it. Her oldest brothers shared a room and her twin brother and her younger brother shared a room together. Since Veronica was the only girl in the house she got her own room. Though she chose the medium sized room instead of the smallest. Normally she would pick the biggest room but since her brothers had to share she had to let them have it. But she didn't pick the smallest room because she was claustrophobic and that wouldn't be too good. Though sometimes she let her youngest brother sleep in her room with her when her twin brother is often awake at night listening to music that gets her little brother mad.

Veronica shook her head a little smiling and then looked around the area. I kind of like it here already. She told him with a soft caring smile. It was true though, Veronica kind of liked it here. It wasn't too boring for the most part, and she had planned on going into town the next day to check things out. See if she could make things exciting in this place, because so far, she didn't really see any excitement around here. So she made it her job to find some excitement and to make friends who want excitement around here. Veronica turned back to Parker and smiled again. So how long have you been living here? She was getting really curious about this boy now. He liked music aparently and they already shared that common interest. Maybe along down the road they'd find more interests they share. Veronica was going to listen to him about when he said that there were interesting people here. And yes, Parker was the first person to welcome her here.

[parker lawrence]

before i find out where you broadcast from
because your play list is killing me

A small smile graced his lips as he was told that he was good. It was always nice to hear something like that in his mind. It wasn't that he was one of those people that lived from compliment to compliment, but hearing it always reassured him. Okay, so maybe he knew that he was a good guitar player. He'd listened to himself playing on recordings time after time and would always smile and nod about it. Even when he'd mess a note up he'd shake it off and still claim that he was the best guitarist in the entire school. While that might not have been true, he was still going to say it. That was just the way that he was and he didn't see why he should go around telling people not to say that about him. Telling people that he thought he still needed work. He knew he wasn't the best guitar player ever and he knew that it would take years and years before he was as good as any of his idols, but that didn't mean he didn't think he was good for his age. Six years of playing guitar had really paid off. At first he'd only practiced just before his lessons, but the moment that he realized what he wanted to do with his life, everything changed. Soon he was practicing every single day and he never wanted to stop. He could remember the days he'd come down from his bedrooms with the tips of his fingers bleeding and his mom would freak out about it. Of course Parker would simply laugh as he cleaned the blood off and tell his mom it was a good sort of blood.

Did he play a lot? Yes, he played every chance he got. When his grandmother wasn't around, when he was able to find a quiet place, when he was playing with the band, he played every single chance he got because he didn't want to end up not playing and getting worse. He was always ready to improve. "I play a few times a day. You might say I'm pretty much obsessed with my music," he admitted with a little bit of a laugh his fingers tapping on the fret board of his guitar. "I'm in a band, and its the only thing I can see myself doing with my life so I want to be as best as I can to increase our chances," he explained further. Exactly why he explained so much was a little bit of a mystery to him, but it was what he'd done. Parker tended to do things like this where he'd end up talking without realizing that he was talking about things that other people probably didn't want to hear about.

When the girl spoke again he was rather relieved since there didn't end up being some sort of awkward moment between them. Almost as though he believed the house was sitting right there he leaned forwards in the bench a bit to look where the girl had pointed. He nodded a bit. "That's cool. I live a while from here. Like I walk and all, but it's not like right here," he said nodding a bit as he leaned back on the bench once again. His house wasn't all that big. It was just enough to have once fit three people rather comfortably. It wasn't really like his mom or grandparents have ever needed that much room in truth. He took up a rather small room while his grandmother was down the hall in the slightly bigger room of the two. There was only one story and really other then that just a living room and a kitchen area. The size of the building was one of the reasons why Parker never spent time there, but there was also the aroma and aura of the place that turned him off. He simply didn't want to be around if he could help it.

Hearing that she already liked it here he smiled a bit. That was a good sign in his mind. "Ya, it's a nice place," he said looking around the area for a moment. "I moved here the summer before my freshman year. Moved in with my grandma," he said with a small shrug as he looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on the girl again. "And I"m a senior now, so that's about four year," he said with a small nod smiling slightly as he moved the guitar upright on his leg once more. He knew that it might be thought of as rude, but he strummed. It wasn't anything loud just a little bit of strumming to help his bored fingers wake up a little bit. "It's not bad being the new kid here. As long as you try to make friends I'm sure you'll make them. You don't seem like one of those weird kids that sits in the corner drawing strange things," he said smiling a bit. Actually from what he could tell this girl would make friends fast, she was nice and well, she was cute. As much as he hated to think about it the ugly girls took a little bit longer to fit in, but everybody eventually did.

[veronica williams]

Veronica didn't really like high school at all. It wasn't all that different then middle school, well other than the fact that people are always feeling each up in the halls and making out and shit like that. But that happened to Veronica before in middle school. In fact, she wasn't even in the school when it happened. She had been at the lake where she had played her guitar. She was thirteen at the time. Almost four years ago that this happened. The boy was sixteen or seventeen. Much too old for Veronica, her brothers were long gone by that time, separated from Veronica in a different foster home. But the boy had felt Veronica up right then and there. He pressured her and pressured her into having sex with him. So she drank a lot. Thats all she remembered. Then the next morning she was naked in a room she didn't know which it was.

Ever since then, Veronica's made sure to stay careful around guys, especially when she's been drinking. She doesn't want to sleep with anybody. She wanted to only sleep with a guy she really liked and when she was ready for it. Not just the boy being ready for it. But for both of them to be ready. But the making out and feeling in school halls, that wasn't the only thing that annoyed her about high school. It was also the drama that goes on. It annoys the hell out of her. So thats why she stays away from it as much as she can. It just made sense right? She couldn't stop drama from happening. Nobody could. So Veronica just went to school, did what she had to do in class, then came home and ignored everybody else in school. Thats how it was at her old school too. Nothing was going to change now that she was here.

Veronica smile brightened when she heard that he was pretty much obsessed with his music. First person she met here and they already had a lot in common. Could things get any better?? Veronica smiled a little and shook her head. I love my music. I couldn't live with out it, literally. Veronica really didn't know what she'd do without music in her life. It made all her problems go away, well that along with cutting and drinking. But honestly, music lets her go off into her own little world, and writing it lets her express her feelings without having to actually tell them to somebody straight out. It was awesome and she made it her goal one day to figure out who actually invented the guitar. Thats cool, I was in a band back in Australia, with my foster brother and his friend. She told him with a small smile. They had music in common and he seemed to love it just as much as she did. If that was true, than they'd have lots to talk about considering she loved music and he seemed to too.

Thats pretty cool. I'm still debating weather or not that living close to school is a good thing or not.. She told him with a slight smile. She didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, or both? She figured it was good since she couldn't be late to school, but it could also be bad because if she decided to fake sick, then her brothers would find out eventually during the day and then make her go back to school and then she could just walk so they didn't have to bother driving her. Veronica didn't even really mind all that much thought, but then again she had yet to worry about the football games she assumed would be really loud, and people always going by in their cars and seeing her outside. It'd just be a tad awkward for Veronica I suppose. But she was going to stop thinking about the negatives and start thinking about the positives. Like if she didn't feel good in school or something, she could just sneak out of class and run home. She didn't know what this nurse was like or if they even had one, but if she was anything like her old nurse at the other school, well they wouldn't let her go home. That wouldn't be good since she hated nurses like that.

"Hey, theres nothing wrong with people who draw, I draw a lot thank you very much." She pointed out with a small smile. Veronica then had an idea, she laid back on her back and slid down her plaid pajama bottoms down a little, just enough to show the little bleeding heart on her waistline. "I designed that myself when I was thirteen." She told him as she sat back up after pulling her pants up again. Veronica had in deed gotten a tattoo when she was thirteen. She had a foster brother who had done them. He picked out a design out of her notebook and that happened to be one. He was one of her friends, but not as close as her real brothers or Mikey ever was. But they shared a lot of the same interests and pasts. They both had parents that been young and alcoholic/abusive. So they understood each other quite well and he was one of her best friends in that foster home. Of course that was in a different foster home that she had met him. He was the only one though who knew about her problems, and he had some as well, together they had tried to help each other but they just couldn't.

[parker lawrence]

before i find out where you broadcast from
because your play list is killing me

Parker's guitar really was so much more to him then he would ever let on. He wasn't a cutter or depressed or anything like that, but it really became a beacon for his issues whenever one would come up. When he'd first started writing music everything had been incredibly literal in his mind. He'd pretty much shout to the world about how horrible he found his teacher to be or how annoyed he was about a girl in his science classroom. It had been from there that things started to progress. Even when he was just in eighth grade he was using his guitar to let it out. He was a boy that was stuck on music so much that really any other sort of expression never seemed to be sufficient enough to make him feel any better. He felt so much better finding a song that personified how he felt and learning to play that then he ever did trying to draw. Drawing usually served only to annoy him more if anything else. He'd never been able to draw and really never tried. He saw no real point in trying to do something that he didn't even want to do. So, he didn't go around saying that music saved him because he'd never had an experience before that he needed saving from. If anything it just served as a way for him to express himself in some way.

Probably the biggest period of expression that could be found within Parker's notebooks of songs would be back during the summer before he moved. Night after night he'd sit up writing songs about well, everything in the town, everything that he'd miss, and everything he hoped he might be able to find. Vividly he could remember his parents walking in during the middle of the night asking him if he really had to be that loud. Those days he'd just grin before nodding and saying that he did indeed have to be that loud. The explanation to follow usually involved him wanting to give them a reason to not want to have him around. That was the worst thing about the move, he didn't see why his parents needed to force him out of the home in the first place. He wasn't one to fall under peer pressure, yet they were believing the worst for their son.

While he didn't know this girl he sort of knew where she was coming from about music being why she's still alive. He couldn't go that literal with it, but he knew that it really could be used to save a person if they were having a problem with something. "Ya, I'd be different without it," he said nodding a little bit. And he'd probably know different people and while he might love life as much as he loved it right now, it just wouldn't be comfortable to him knowing what he had at that moment in time. "That's cool. What sort of band?" he asked cocking his head to the side a little bit. Talk of bands always interested him. He loved to know what other kids his age were doing and how their bands progressed. It might have been a bit of his competitive side shining through wanting to prove his band was better, but there was interest to. By hearing what other people's bands were doing he could easily get ideas for his own and maybe it would bring them one more step closer to their dream and boy were they fighting for that. Already Parker had been pushing the guys to help him save money so they could get some recording time. This did end up involving him washing a lot of cars around the neighborhood and the days Rupert joined in were well, interesting to say the least.

As far as living close to the school went, Parker really didn't have a feeling if it was good or bad at all. Mostly he was just sure that it was one of those things that mattered on who you were a a person. If you liked to skip school and had parents that weren't home, then living close to the school could be good, but if you preferred to avoid seeing the building that would probably become the bane of all teenagers existences at some point during their stay. Either way Parker was fine where his place was located. It wasn't too far from anything and well, it wasn't noisy. He knew for a fact that it would never be noisy there because well, grandma would probably go kick some ass if anybody tried to disturb her peaceful existence. Of course that only made it that much harder for Parker to blame any of his noise on the neighbor kids which really didn't even exist. 'I guess you'll find out eventually," he said with a little bit of a shrug as he tapped his fret board once more as usual just because he needed something to do with his hands at all moments of any given day.

When the girl spoke about how she drew he smiled a bit. He hadn't meant that people who draw were weird, but he was just picking just some sort of a random thing that he noticed weird kids doing from time to time. Still, he had no chance to tell her that because next thing he knew she was laying back and starting to pull her pants down a bit. His eyes went a bit wide as he looked at the girl. It really was one of those odd events that he couldn't comprehend right away, but couldn't stop looking. It wasn't until she had finished pointing to the tattoo that he realized what was going on. "ooh," he said almost stupidly as he shook his head a little bit. "That's pretty cool," he nodded. At this moment he didn't have any tattoos to share. He simply just didn't have one at this point in time. One day he planned on it, but that wouldn't be for a while. Before he took a jump like that he really wanted to plan it.

Once she'd sat up again he nodded. "And I didn't mean people that draw are weird," eh said with a small laugh. 'I just meant those weird ones that are like in the corner doodling really dark twisted pictures on things. Like you know the kids I'm talking about. They wear all black and go around dressed in anime clothes for some odd reason or another," he explained hoping she understood. Who knows, she'd come from a different country and other countries could easily be lacking in the kids like that. They didn't really bother Parker, he just found them to be strange was all and probably wouldn't end up talking to them anytime soon.

[veronica williams]

Veronica loved to draw, she loved to write, she loved to play the guitar. Pretty much the only three things in life that mattered to her anymore. Of course her brothers did as well as Mikey and her other foster brothers she was close to, but mostly music, writing and drawing kept herself to give her something to do instead of cutting herself. Cutting herself, she still did that sometimes. When she got really really depressed. That was when she didn't have her guitar with her or when she had been mad. But that had stopped, She had moved here to America and so far, it was pretty cool. she didn't have anything to be depressed about so she didn't cut herself. So maybe now living with her brothers, would cause her less stress which would make her less depressed. Hopefully it did though now. She looked down at her arms and only a few scars were visible to anyone, so when she realized this, she pulled her sleeves to her hoodie down. She didn't want anybody to see and ask why she cut herself. They'd find out lots of stuff that Veronica doesn't want them to know about her. But when she made some friends around here, they'd find out about her problems in their own time. When Veronica eventually tells them. Thats when they would find out, period.

When his question about the band came she bit down on her lip. Honestly, she didn't really know. So she just glanced around the place and then looked back up at Parker. Honestly, was it a band though? They were just three kids who wrote songs together and played together in their garage. Is it considered a band in America? Veronica was about to ask but she realized she'd look like a freak telling him that she didn't know. So she just shrugged a little and thought for a moment. Yeah. It was pretty cool I guess. I miss my foster brothers and all. They were in a band with me She told him trying to stall so she could think of what to say before she actually said it and she made sure she didn't sound stupid. Well, it was just three of us in the band, my foster brother Mikey, his friend and me. We really only played in our garage. I guess I don't really like other people hearing me play. She decided to just admit that she was afraid. Veronica wasn't going to lie, he'd figure it out sooner or later that she was lying about it and then they'd be mad at her and never believe her again. Thats not what she needed here right away. She wanted actual friends. So she decided that being honest with them was pretty much the only way to make friends here, and keep them.What about you and your band? Veronica asked curiously.

Veronica didn't really know if she wanted to be here at this moment. She liked the view of America yes, but she was already starting to get home sick. But only because of Mikey and her other foster family. She lived a few miles away from the school back in Australia, wherever she was, she always seemed to be really close to a school. She's gone through four schools in the past two years. Including this school she will be attending the next day. But when she only lived a few miles away from the school, Veronica just told the current foster mother she was off to school. Veronica was often one of the oldest, there was usually a bunch of little babies and toddlers that needed care. So the foster mum's would end up being occupied with the little ones to pay any attention to if Veronica was indeed going to school. After a while Veronica realized that they wouldn't really care so she often just went down to the lake down the street and play her guitar. That was where she had written and drawn everything. She wrote lyrics that just popped into her mind. Then when she got home, she'd often sit in her room she had to share, lock everybody out of the room, and then make the lyrics into music. It seemed only reasonable. It was the perfect life back there, almost. But now that she's in America, her brothers will be watching her closely and make sure she gets to school on time and stays there all day. This was honestly going to get annoying. Veronica thought to herself.

Veronica smiled a little to herself as she watched Parker stare at her. It was kind of what she expected after she thought about it. She thought that the boy would just stare at her like an idiot since she was pulling down her pants, just a few moments after meeting the boy. But it was for a good reason. She was showing him a tattoo. So she pulled up her pants to where they were before and sat up a little and looked around again, not really sure what to say quite yet. Veronica soon decided on, not making things awkward and pretend like nothing ever happened. She looked around the quad once again and looked up at Parker and smiled a little.I got it when I was thirteen. Living in my first foster home. My oldest brother did it for me at the time. She told him with a small smile as it brought back a lot of memories that she missed about Australia. The more she spoke about it, the more she remembered about it, the more she missed it. Hell it was only her first day in America! Yet she was still already hoping that her brothers would change their minds and move back to Australia. But then again, she did meet a really cool guy well so far anyways. But he seemed really cool to get to know. So now she had to think on which she wanted. Stay here? Or go home?

Yea, I think I know what you mean. I draw in class, just not in a corner. But I draw mostly on my jeans and in my notebook. She said as she picked at the grass a little. Veronica pointed down to her jeans that had many words and drawings written all over it. It had names like Mikey, Travis, Austin and a lot more. They were her few friends names and her foster brothers and real brothers. Veronica wanted a way to remember them so she had them sign her favorite pair of jeans. So she wore them here today. They all had written little quotes on them as well. That or drawings or little notes to her. Mostly inside jokes between them. For some reason though, she seemed to get along with guys better than girls. There weren't really many girls her age that were like her. Shared the same interests and all. So she hung out with guys a lot. She didn't mind one bit though.

[parker lawrence]

before i find out where you broadcast from
because your play list is killing me

Sometimes Parker worried sometimes. He worried that he wasn't going to amount to anything and he'd find himself graduating without a future at all. He wasn't applying to any colleges at all and he didn't plan on ever doing anything like that at all. So, basically he wondered if he was going to end up living on the street. Sure he knew that the rest of the band was mostly in the same boat. Perhaps he'd just go to a community college if worse came to worse. Still, he was so dead set on getting this band famous that he would probably just spend the time that he wasn't in college doing millions of things for the band. It really could probably end up being the death of him. He was obsessed beyond belief, but he knew that he'd end up having it pay off one day hopefully that day would come sooner rather then later.

As the girl talked yet again about her band, Parker nodded. She hadn't answered the question. He wanted to know what type of music not who was in it. Sure that sort of thing was good to know, but he was much more interested in the type. He loved to know what type of things other people are playing and what types people were staying away from. It also seemed odd that they never played in public. To him there was no point in being a musician if you weren't going to play for other people. What was the point in writing something that means so much to you if nobody would hear it? Oh well, to each their own. His shoulders shrugged a bit as he leaned back. "Oh well. I guess that's one of those things that you'll either end up growing out of or you'll live with. I love playing for other people though, it's freeing," he said with a little bit of a grin. As far as his band went, it was a rather interesting one in his mind. They were a bit of a pop punk band, but working on their own sound in general. "We're sort of the popular sounds of today. Pop punky and well, we've been together for maybe three and a half years now. It's me and my best mate (a word he'd picked up from that particular person) Rupert on guitar and he sings then two other friends for bass and guitar. We're working on getting signed." he said grinning widely. That really was his one hope right now.

Most of his time was spent away from home. Mostly it was because he wanted to avoid his grandmother, but there were other reasons as well. Parker knew that if he wasn't around that often if he didn't move out at the beginning of what would be his freshman year of college he grandmother might not end up kicking him out. Sure he would love to just move in with Rupert, but he wasn't sure about that idea right now. At this point in their relationship they'd probably set fire to something or ending leaving the door unlocked and one of their friends would walk in on a love fest. Parker didn't worry about being pulled completely out of the closet. Sure he was out of the closet for the most part, but he didn't tell the world about it unless they directly asked if he was bisexual or made out with guys or anything like that. Otherwise he saw no reason to tell the world. Rupert, however, was still completely in the closest. Parker didn't want to force him out of it, no matter how much he wanted to be in a relationship with the male.

Thirteen? That was a bit early for a tattoo, but whatever. If the girl wanted it, then she was free to have it. Parker hadn't been into any sort of body art really. Sure he would eventually get a tattoo, but he didn't want to end up covered in them like some people became. He just didn't think that he was the type of guy that would be able to pull something like that off. "That's cool. I don't know what I want as far as ink yet, but one day I'll get something." he said with a small nod looking around where he sat a little bit. Maybe he wouldn't end up getting a tattoo ever. Whatever happened int he end, Parker would keep true to who he was because that's the type of guy he was. Ever since he was young he tried to stay the same person and not let the world get to him. While he wasn't the same guy he was at age five, he had a lot of the same ideas and really just didn't let outside influences change him too much to fit in with everybody else in the world.

A small smile played on his lips as he looked at the girl's pants. It reminded him of his best friend's walls at home as well as a yearbook. It was a good idea, though he'd never go for it. Knowing his friends they'd draw horrible pictures and outline his penis and stuff like that. Still, if he didn't worry about that sort of thing he'd probably have done something like that at some point in his life. "That's cool. I can't draw at all. I'm horrible at that sort of thing. Heck, half the time I can barley read my own handwriting," he said with a little bit of a laugh a large grin on his lips.

[veronica williams]

Veronica had to admit she was kind of jealous when Parker said he could play freely in front of people. Veronica had always wanted to play in front of others, she just hasn't had the courage to do so yet. Her foster brothers have always tried to get Veronica up on stage in front of people so she would play, but she wouldn't, she couldn't! She tired once. But Veronica froze right there on the stage and now since then, she hasn't set foot on one since then. She doesn't plan on doing so either. She is fine with just playing for her brothers and herself...Well thats what she thought. But she didn't exactly know why she was suddenly getting the urge to go grab her guitar from behind that tree and playing the lyrics to the song she had written on her way over here from Australia. Yes, Veronica was so bored, that on the plane ride here, she wrote a song. She didn't necessarily have her guitar with her when she was seated, but she did have lyrics. Veronica put half of it into music when she had gotten home, part of the reason she had came here (to the school this late) was to finish putting the rest into music. But then she had ran into Parker and so she decided to just figure the rest out when she was home and everybody was sleeping.

Veronica finally just shrugged a little and smiled softly up at the boy. You should get signed. I haven't heard your whole band play together, but if they are just as good as you are, then you guys should get signed soon enough. She complimented with a smile. Now that she knew that he was in a band, and that she's heard him, well she wanted to get to know him better and maybe even hear his band play one day. But then she had another thought, what if she had gone to watch them one day? Then she lost all her confidence to play in front of someone other than her family. Veronica made herself stop worrying at this moment. She then made a promise to herself that she would never write another song until she played one in front of someone else. That promise right there just made Veronica want to run over and grab her guitar. Then come back and play right there in front of Parker. But she was able to stop herself from doing that. She loved writing and she can really only put her feelings into lyrics. So that was the only reason she was going to play. So she could write more lyrics. Right then Veronica had a feeling that she had never had before. But it was a good feeling I suppose. Maybe it was the feeling that she had inside of her, about playing a song for someone. If that was how you felt when you did something like that, then Veronica wanted to play millions of songs and never stop.

Veronica looked around the quad and saw a boy walking past them behind a tree. Veronica quickly realized who it was. It was her brother Austin. She turned a deep shade of red. Her older brother was spying on her! Veronica quickly took her eyes off of her brother and looked back to Parker. She hoped that he wouldn't notice. Hopefully though Austin would loose interest in Parker and his little sister and just leave. If not then, Parker would probably never talk to Veronica after what her brother did to him. He would probably come over and start hitting on Parker. She didn't know weather or not Parker was BI or gay yet but she didn't want to take any chances with that happening. She was here with Parker to become his friend, not to have him get freaked out if her brother suddenly started hitting on him. But her brother knew that Veronica had seen him, yet he still wasn't getting the hint that Veronica wanted him gone. So she quickly pulled out her phone and sent him a text telling him to get the hell out of there. The boy soon got the message and pulled out his phone. Veronica looked at Parker and just hoped he wouldn't look back. Play a song for me? She asked hoping to distract him from her brother. But part of Veroncia really wanted him to play for her so she bit down on her lip and hoped he would just play a song he had written.

Finally her brother got the hint that he was not wanted there. So he stuck his tongue out at Veronica, but before he actually left, he decided to play a cruel trick on Veronica. He took one step forward and went to go hug the boy. But instead he quickly moved out of the way and sat down on the grass next to Veronica. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. Why is my favorite baby sister doing out here all alone? He told her with a cruel smile. Veronica could feel the heat rush to her face. Instantly she knew she was turning a really deep shade of red. She quickly pushed her brother out of the way and then shook her head. One, I'm your only little sister, Two, I'm not alone, and Three, Your a moron! She screamed at her brother. Now she was pissed off at him. But Veronica knew very well how to get her brother mad and her brothers knew to leave her alone when she got mad since she could leave bruises on her brothers. She may be small, but she is strong for a girl her size. Thankfully Veronica hadn't started to cry. She usually did that when she got mad at someone. Even when she wanted to stay tough and not let anybody or anything get to her. Finally Austin looked from Parker to Veronica sighing. Fine, I'm sorry I came and interupted your little...uh...whatever this is. He said before he got up and walked away.

Veronica sat there and stared down at the ground for a moment, hoping that he wouldn't bring it up or ask what that was all about. It would just be too weird for her to explain everything about her brothers to Parker. She then just shook her head and looked up at Parker, an apologetic look on her face. Sorry about him....He likes to annoy the hell out of me all the time. She told him with a soft smile. Hopefully he would just forget about that and the two could just go on with their conversation, not even bothered with what had just happened with her brother. Of course Veronica loved her brother, it was just that he had always been like this to her and it really got Veronica mad. Probably one out of the few things that could actually get her mad. Of course none of her other brothers did this to her. They respected her privacy and they respected her in general. She didn't think they would have though if they were just running away from their parents. But this was a new case. Veronica has been able to prove she was old enough to take care of herself and that she didn't need her brothers there for her. Maybe for emotional support, but she could handle herself. So uhm, anyways... Veronica really didn't know what to say now. There really wasn't much to say though. But then she remembered their previous conversation. I guess writing and drawing is the only thing I can do to...get away from things for a while. Gives me a chance to think about things. She almost said to get away from her problems but at last minute changed it.

ooc}sorry it took so long to reply. i lost muse for a long time. but now its coming back =]