Alone [[Katie]]

[Anthony Wallace]

((I've been using that tag a lot ))

Ok, so it was five o'clock at night and he was sitting at the beach watching the waves move in and out but that really wasn't out of the ordinary for him. He'd came here to relax and think about things, and also he thought that the puppy that he was babysitting for Branden would run around. But, Toby had ran out of energy and was now fast asleep on his lap so he couldn't get up even if he wanted to. Normally he wouldn't babysit the chocolate lab puppy for just a few hours but it just so happened that he'd been on the phone with Branden when his mom had pulled in the driveway. He must have noticed how annoyed he was by that and offered to let him watch the puppy for awhile. Then again, now that he thought about it Branden knew all about the problems with his mother that had been steadily getting worse. The very first thing that she'd done was pull him out of school after Mike's death. That was the last thing that he needed since he had wanted to be with people. Her latest thing was the fact that she'd taken to listening in on his conversations while she was home which was why he disappeared whenever she came home.

But, he had thought that she was working all night tonight and he hadn't been expecting her home. After watching her pull up he had quickly ended the conversation on his cell phone and then snuck out the backyard and hopped over the fence into a neighbors yard before slipping off toward Branden's which, luckily for him wasn't that far away. After he'd picked Toby up he'd simply walked him to the beach since it really wasn't that far or at least he didn't think so. Then again, he was used to walking everywhere since he didn't have his drivers license yet. "You know what Toby, watching you is almost like having a dog again." He said to the puppy, even though he knew that he was asleep. That was another thing that his mother had done, she'd given his last dog away and he hadn't even gotten to say goodbye. After that she'd said that there would be no more pets.

"And you know what else, I'd laugh if somebody walked up to me and thought that I was your owner." He said and then smiled slightly at the thought. It was rather odd how Branden and him did look similar in a way but the person who looked the most like was Mike (obviously since he was his older brother). Awhile ago he'd worked up the nerve to compare photos and he'd realized that everybody was right about that. His eyes wandered over to the lake and he sighed, he really needed somebody to talk to. But he wasn't really good with talking to strangers anymore.

[Katie Clark]

Katie hadnt been doing much other than jogging that day. She'd been trying to be careful because a. She knew that she was angry right now...Who would be when their dad confirmed that they were moving within the semester...And b. Because she wanted to run but kept trying to hold herself back from running to much and ending up in the hospital again. So what did she do...she came up with another one of her brilliant ideas to get around reality....She wasnt sure if she realy wanted to talk to anyone right now...mabey but there was somehow TOO much to say. So she came down to the beachline....

It was niceb ecause for some reason there was no one...or close to it , there today. She needed time to clear her head....ok, so who was she going to tell.....not everyone...but sean or branden......She knew if she told one the other would find out within hours. .....If she told sean....she'd get options and about every aspect and angle of the situation....and they'd talked about it before too...But she felt as if she should tell branden...He was her boyfriend after all, and she'd found she could tell him just about anything lately. She still wasnt sure though. She knew that neither one fo them would be happy she knew she sure wasnt.

She came apon someone on the beach though...They looked familiar and for a moment she thought that it was someone.....very familiar but she knew it wasnt it REALy couldnt be him. As she got closer the something...which turned out to be a dog, in his lap got familiar too...That was brandens puppy, she'd seen him before and fell in love with im right away...But who was holdgin him As she could see more o fthe facial parts of him she recognized anthony and grinned watching him and nearing she hadnt seen him all summer realy hey there stranger she said her face as bright and cheery as ever

[Anthony Wallace]

As soon as he heard her voice a smile appeared on his face, now here was somebody that he would have no problems talking to. "Katie! I haven't talked to you in ages." He said with a slightly excited tone, but he ended up waking Toby up and the puppy jumped up. "Sorry buddy, I didn't mean to wake you up." He said and then petted the puppy for a moment before it ran over to where Katie was. It was clear that the puppy liked her. He then stood up and faced Katie, he hadn't seen her in ages. In fact the only people that he'd really seen were Sean and Branden, or one of their siblings. In fact, a few nights ago he'd shown up unannounced at Branden's at midnight because he'd been unable to sleep and he had heard his parents arguing. It seemed as if they did that a lot lately and he hadn't been able to take it anymore. Since he had heard his name come up and his dad defending him but his mother had apparently wanted something to happen with him. Most likely she wanted him to still be home schooled even though she'd agreed to let him go to a public school this year.

He looked at Katie and resisted the urge to hug her, she'd been one of the people that he had really missed this summer. He couldn't remember the exact time that he'd met her but if he remembered right it had been after Mike's death and she'd found him sitting on a swing at the park staring at the snow or something. Then again, he could be wrong because there were some things that he just couldn't remember for some reason. "So, I hear that Branden and you are a couple and my source of that can't lie about that you know." He said and then grinned slightly, she probably knew just from that statement that Branden had told him that. He was happy for both of them and not to mention he knew that Katie was really lucky because he knew that Branden really did love her. He just hoped that she really didn't ask about how he was doing because he could talk about other people all day, he just had some problems about talking about himself. Maybe it was because how things were going lately that he just didn't want to tell her.

((once again, short because I've got like..another rp post to do in like 10 minutes. Tomorrow my posts will be the normal Megan size trust me.))

[Katie Clark]

Katie grinned watching him " oh i know" she said watching the puppy jump over she pet him smiling and bending down. he was seemignly already a big puppy so SHE couldnt pick him up though others probably could. She walked over to anthony with him and hugged him. hows everything going, i havnt heard from you lately..... she sighed and smiled shaking her head i know when im not wanted she teased laughing. She could always talk to anthony too. She'd walk with him after school sometimes though he was homeschooled so it was when she saw him on the way home so i heard that your "actually" going to school again" she told him laughing. she'd always been known to teas him because he was homeschooled though she'd told him when she was a kid she always wanted to be homeschooled.

She smiled kneeling down to pet the rambunctious puppy that was wriggling around her feet looking up to him and smiling ya...we are, when'd he tell you? she said grinning. She knew he'd told her. They'd been known to hang around around branden and sean and though she could be wrong and it could have been sean or something like that who told him she put her money on the fact that it was probably branden that told him. Which was ifine with her. She'd had some other people come up to her lately asking abou it and she was quite happy confirming the rumors. they'd been getting closer lately and she realy cared about him...

[Anthony Wallace]

Great, that was the one thing that he didn't want to talk about. But he knew that she could probably tell that things hadn't been going good by the fact that he knew the expression on his face must have changed dramatically. "I'll be honest with you, things have not been good lately. At least, not with the relationship between my mom and me." He said and then sighed, he knew that Katie knew about all of the problems that he'd had with his mother, but he was going to trust he with something he couldn't tell Branden. Well, he could tell him but he didn't want to watch his reaction to it. "Listen, I don't think that it would be wise to tell Branden this because I know he'll get really upset. But my mom put a padlock on Mike's door somehow. I mean, how far is she going to go because she already told me not to touch anything in there. When she wasn't looking I got the key from her room and got a copy made of it." He said quietly as he fought back tears, he really hadn't needed to get a copy made of it because Sean had taught him how to pick locks. But he was still angry at his mother, what was she trying to prove by locking the room up?

"She's done a lot more then that but I don't think you want to hear everything." He said knowing that she'd probably get really upset when she heard everything and he honestly didn't want to get her upset. He listened to what she said and then managed to smile again somehow. "Yeah, and I wish that you could have been there when my mom started to take back her answer. Branden and Sean storm into the house and they got Mark and Josh into it too. If I wouldn't have let them in Sean probably would have kicked the door in." He said and then laughed slightly as he remembered the look on his mother's face when all of them ended up in the living room. She probably had been afraid that something would happen to her if she said no. But just because she'd said yes didn't mean anything really. She'd told him that she expected him get all A's or else she was going to make him get home schooled again. She didn't even realize that the only reason he'd gotten really high marks in math was because on numerous occasions Branden or Sean had taken his work and did it before he could even say no.

"And, Branden's trying to convince me to join some teams. He said that he was positive that I could get onto the football team if I wanted. That's saying something I guess because you know he hates it when underclassmen try out." He said and then wondered if he really should try or not. Sure he would practice some sport whenever he had time but still, if he made a team then people would probably start the "poor Anthony" routine. And he hated it when people walked up to him and told him that they were so sorry for everything that had happened. Did they realize that they were only making things that much worse by bringing everything up constantly? He heard her next question, he knew the whole story about how Branden had asked her out. "He told me the same night that he asked you out. I was laying in bed at one in the morning because I couldn't sleep and he just calls me up and tells me everything." He said looked out at the lake again, normally Sean would have been the one to do something like that. But apparently Branden had been too excited to sleep and had decided to take a chance and call him that late.

[Katie Clark]

her brow rose...She knew as much as anyone else that he didnt have great parents either...well it wasnt that they werent good parents but they were...well...paretns in her eyes, nothing but a hassle given by god to make teens lives miserable. She continued to listen sitting down and letting the puppy crawl all over her. She diverted her attention, watching the wriggling puppy try to lick her face and then looking up to him im so sorry.... i dont know whats up with parents lately...but that sucks, i wont tell him if you dont want me to she said to him.She knew that Branden probably would get upset about it, and she didnt realy want that right now, if she was going to tell him about her parents then she wanted him in the best mood possible....or so she hoped

she listened more though and smiled a bit well thank goodness it was "only" sean cause if i was there she'da had no say in the matter she told him laughing. She knew how hyped up sean could get about issues and she knew though she probably didnt get as worked up as him she could realy let words...even fists on a few occasions, fly. She was trying to cheer him up a bit though too, she realy did know how it felt to have something like that on her mind......She grinned when she talked about branden helping him get onto some teams well you should, THAT is exactly what you need, and ill be right there cheering you on........literally she said, a crazy smirk on her face. That probalby was what he needed was a team or somethin to occupy his time a bit, and get him out of the house away from his mom.

She Realy perked up when he talked about the night branden told him......She was a regular girl how could she not think that was adorable....She'd been excited...She hadnt slept much either, but she thought that part of it was the fact she was pretty soar from riding that day for the first time. She beamed a bit though. She'd already told a bunch of people. She was so excited after he'd asked her out that she couldnt help herself, not mentioning the ridng she mad up something about them just running into eachother and talking some more..... it worked it was basically the whole story...without barns or horses....But then again it made her think about moving and her worry lately about Telling branden, she just didnt know When or how to tell him right now

She just couldnt get that subject out of her mind lately it was like itching her to find a solution. She'd thought about the school dorms,........but the lifestyle she'd grown up on made her cringe a little thinking about it, sure they werent horrible...they werent home either. She'd also thought about taking up seans offer about the attic room....But with her dating Branden, his best friend and one of hers...it just seemed kind of wierd.... She looked up at Anthony well dont feel bad my parents are just as bad....in other ways.... she alsmost had to rethink it a moment almost not wanting to tell anyone but at the same time she realy did want to my parents promised me we wouldnt move again in my highschool years.....But my dads opening a new law firm in L.a. and he wants us to move out there......dont tell Branden though, i need to be the one to tell him this one...im still trying to think up what to do, i mean, if worse comes to worse hopefully i can talk my parents into letting me stay at the school dorms, but thats only for the school year.....and its not the best place to stay she told him beginning to ramble on almost forgetting that he was there just pouring everything out.

[Anthony Wallace]

He listened that what she said about her parents promising that she wouldn't move again. The one thing that he'd learned was to never trust promises that your parents made because they never really kept them anyway. His mother broke promises all the time, he father was a lot better though and at least he was home every single night. A shocked expression appeared on his face as he heard her talk about moving. She couldn't move, he'd had almost everybody else ripped away from him, and she was one of the few friends that he had left. Not to mention, he trusted her a lot and he knew that she'd never leak anything that he told her that was private. And he wasn't just thinking about himself now since he knew that if he moved then Branden would probably slip back into his not being interested in girls again and he might not ever come out of that. He couldn't stand to let that happen, he wouldn't. There had to be someway that he could help solve this problem. Just then he got a sudden idea but before he said anything he took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself down. It wouldn't be any good if he broke down before telling her his sudden ideas.

"Ok, first off there's no way I'm going to let you move. So I have two ideas for you. Choice number one is that I give up my room and let you have it. I honestly would do that you know but this second choice is probably a little better. A few years ago my dad got this idea that he was going to have an apartment built above our garage. Which I must say was a brilliant idea because I go up there all the time to hide from my mom. But, it's got heat and everything a normal apartment would have but it's not the biggest thing in the world." He said and then sat down next to her, if she decided to take up his second choice then she'd just have to get used to him hiding up there from his mother. It was funny because she would look all around the house for him but she never thought to look up there for him. She wouldn't look in the basement either but it was cold down there so he didn't hide out down there too much. Besides, there were so many boxes down there it was easy to trip over one of them and fall. And falling on concrete hurt.

"You'd just have to ask my dad since I know that he'd say yes. He's a lot more understanding and not to mention he's not cold hearted like my mom is." He said and then slowly looked over to her, he knew that she'd probably be shocked by him saying that about his mother but she didn't know what she'd told him. And he wasn't so sure that he wanted to repeat it either. Since about two weeks ago she'd gotten mad at him for not cleaning his room when it had been spotless already. And she'd told him that she wished that he'd died instead of Mike. After hearing that he'd ran out of the house and down the street. It had been late at night and he really hadn't wanted to spend the night outside at the park or something. So he'd ran over to Branden's and he'd only knocked once before Josh answered. But since he was crying at the time he'd actually thought it was Branden and latched onto him and buried his face into his shoulder and told him everything. It wasn't until he calmed down a little that he realized that the person that he was crying on wasn't Branden. After that he'd told Josh not to wake Branden up and that he was fine before curling up on the floor and falling asleep. He'd woken up at six the next morning on the couch and had ended up telling Branden everything after that.

That hadn't been the first time that he ran off into the night. The first time had actually been when his dad had told him what had happened to Mike the night of the accident. He had taken off running and had almost fallen on ice about five times before he finally slowed down and took off for the park at a fast jog. Then he'd sat on a swing and just let everything come out, he didn't know how long he had actually been sitting on that swing before Branden and Sean came along but he knew it had been awhile. He could remember hearing footsteps and looking up to see Branden looking as bad as he felt and Sean trying to keep it together but failing miserably. The two of them had somehow convinced him to get off of the swing and go with them. It had been really cold and windy that night and he could remember feeling the snowflakes hit his arms. He'd ran out of the house so fast that he hadn't even grabbed a jacket. It was then that he realized how cold he was and the next thing he new Branden was holding out his jacket and telling him that he needed it worse. After that they brought him back to Sean's and the next thing he knew he was waking up and not feeling very well. He ended up getting pneumonia and his mother had still dragged him to Mike's funeral with him even though he could hardly stand up. That was when he knew things would be very different from now on. And things definitely had been very different after that. His mind then went back to the present and he looked over at Katie and hoped that she didn't realize that he'd went back into the memories.

[Katie Clark]

Katie watched him. There was something about katie, she VERY rarely cried....it wasnt something in her nature to do...She'd pout, "mourn", and she could have a GIANT attitude...But she didnt cry, even when marissa died....She almost felt bad about that in itself, but at the same time she always said that she could just see marissa yelling at her if she did cry or like coming back and slapping her when she didnt expect it or something. She watched him and he seemed as upset as she was.... She realy just didnt want to move, and though she realy didnt like her parents she hated to admit she didnt want them to leave either. She realy wasnt sure why.... She'd been raised in such a coushy lifestyle that looking ahead without her parents seemed wrong or something, she realy wasnte even sure.... It just scared her a little bit. like her ....katies LARGE comfort zone was being removed.

She looked over at him as he sat down beside her.She wiped her eyes refusing to let herself cry though, if she was this torn up thinking about it around anthony she wasnt sure she'd beable to help herself when shetold branden..... She listened to his ideas and was still a bit skeptical......It wasnt that she didnt think they were good ideas, sean had similar, well not the bedroom part but that was ok. She smiled a bit thanks, ya...sean offered me his attic too she said before holding the puppy to her, he'd fallen asleep on her lap and she was ok with that right now, she just held him tight. She could remember moving before, it was no biggie, when she was a kid it was only natural for her to move every six months to a year.... mabey every once in a while a year and a half or so...But this time was different. She'd gotten a reputation here, she'd been here for three four years going on her fifth.....She didnt want to leave her friends, she'd actually worked her name up to the top and she'd gotten so close to what seemed like everyone.....and then there was branden. She didnt even want to think about that, and at the same time she realy wanted to, she wasnt sure how he'd take it if she left, but she ws sure that she couldnt cope, after meeting and being with him, She wasnt in the stage yet to probably admit it,...She wasnt one to tell people that she " loved" them. Her dad had somehow gotten it through her head that love was fake and that there was no such thing as "real love". But she was beginning to get to that point though she was sure she wouldnt admit it yet.

She just kind of dazed out watching ahead of her she realy wasnt sure at this point.... i think ill talk to branden first, mabey ill see what he thinks..... and ill let you know she told him thank you... she said quietly leaning over and hugging him. Beginning to feel as if she'd cry again she looked down at Brandens puppy on her lap trying to take her mind off of it so she wouldnt, She didnt cry alone even and she deffinitely wouldnt cry with anthony right there.

That was another thing her dad had instilled into his daughter....no weakness. He was a lawyer and he was a tough one working a lot of the big cases in the country, speaking of which he was gone now on a case...But she could remember even when she was a kid that he'd told her things to always remember.....dont trust anyone, always push "YOURSELF" to your goals, dont let others, and dont show weakness or people will tear you limb from limb.And katie being katie was a very emotional girl, she always was, but she was always listening taking notes in her mind too...She'd remembered what her dad said and grown up like he'd taught her to...But when she moved here it was all just different she realy just let everything loose up.She focused on her dancing, and people began talking to her more, she hung out and loosened up....It all seemed to be working out, fitting into place, Her social butterfly attitude being let through a bit ....her and her dad grew farther and farther appart as her and her friends grew closer. But she could always see how dissapointed he seemed in her, and she never realy got why either.

Seh looked at him she was confusing her self so much lately.....she dint know when r how to tell branden though.... Should she go tell him right away or go and wait for them to go out by themselves sometime, like riding or something. But could she actually wait that long to tell him? knowing ehr dad they could move on a dime. He'd done that before she'd come home from school or soemthing and all of a sudden they'd be packed and leaving. She'd always made up the joke that her dad was part of the italian mafia though knowing her dad he probably could be. If you saw their family you'd surely think so , they were all 100% italian and just by looking at them you could tell that. Their house inside and out was italian and her dad had a strong italian accent....She picked up on it too every now and again when she got realy angry she didnt realy speak much italian though most of her family was in italy once again only when she was realy angry and seemed like she didnt know what she was saying would she begin rambling on in italian...Thats where her mom said she got her stubborn attitude streak and she'd always just gone along with it....nevr realy asking much about her family anyways

[Anthony Wallace]

So Sean had offered her the attic, he'd been up there and it was rather nice. In fact, he'd spent about a week at the Novak home when his parents fighting had gotten really bad and Branden had been off with his grandfather for a week somewhere. Everybody always said not to run away from your problems but he couldn't help his parents fighting. And somehow his mother always brought the fight back over to him and he couldn't stand to sit in his room and hear his dad try and defend him. He missed the days when his parents hardly ever fought about things. But those days seemed to have disappeared into that cold November night too. But there was nothing he could do about it so he just had moved on with life. Sure he wasn't over the death of his older brother but he accepted it. People always wondered how he could be so strong about things, they didn't see that he really was a mess of nerves and fears. He never showed that side to anybody he didn't truly trust. But for some reason Katie had never really saw that side of him. But it was slowly starting to come out now.

"Yeah, that probably would be best. And if things don't work out then we can both move into the dorms together." He said quietly and then forced himself to smile. He didn't know why he was being so quiet all of a sudden, he only talked quietly when he was around strangers. And he'd been known to hide behind Branden when a stranger approached them. His eyes moved out to the lake again as he tried to think of something to say so that he didn't lose it. "You know people always either think that I'm Branden or that he's got a brother he never mentioned. That's really odd isn't it? Since I honestly don't think I look that much like him." He said and then looked down at the sand and he knew what he wanted to tell Katie but he was scared that he'd make her cry. "A few weeks ago..my mom told me that she wished I would have died instead of Mike." He said, still staring at the sand and he watched as a few teardrops hit the sand.

It was then that he knew he couldn't hold everything in any longer. Sometimes he was just as bad as Branden with things, he'd let everything kind of sit inside and then one day it would just all come out again. "Katie, you can't move. You just can't, I don't want another person to just be ripped away from me. Most people abandoned me after I started getting home schooled. You were the first real stranger that I met that actually wanted to be friends with me after that." He said as his voice shook before more tears made his way down his face and to the sand. He then turned away from her and buried his face into his hands. He hated it when people had to see him cry, it didn't happen too often anymore. Only when he got really upset by something, and he was really upset about the idea of Katie moving away. A few sobs escaped him and his shoulders shook.

When he'd met Katie, he'd been feeling really alone and then after meeting her he'd started to actually feel normal again. Since for awhile he really didn't see much of Branden or Sean because Branden refused to come in his house and he took everything really hard. Which left Sean to try and deal with him and make sure that he was alright. "If you go then I think that I'll just let my mother win and I'll be home schooled again." He said through the sobs before he finally fell silent. But he picked up a rock and then threw it as hard as he could before dropping his head back into his hands.

((Ok so it's not a "novel" but it's got a lot of emotions running through it.))

[Katie Clark]

she watched him and nodded sounds good she said trying to fight back tears, so far she was winning but she knew she couldnt fight forever. She sat there and kept trying to divert her attention to the puppy petting him and holding him tight still almost like her own little fluffy stress ball. She sighed and looked over to him smiling a little from behind you look like him if you dont see "you" when you turn around i know right away its you thoughshe told him smiling. She'd always noticed a resemblance betweent he two but when she'd gotten to know them more and had gotten closer to Branden it alls eemed different. She'd look at anthony and they both just looked 100% different.

She stopped when he spoke again her smile turning to a frown. She couldnt imagina anyone saying anything like that. She saw him start to cry and tried to be the strong one but her hands started to tremble she embraced him, That was something katie did she never knew why, she was big on comforting by hgging though, she guessed cause whe she had problems and was growing up she never had anyone even when she wanted someone. Anthony, your moms insane....i know for a fact my life wouldnt be the same without you around your here as my guardian angel she said trying to lighten things though her voice was a little shaky as she watched him turn away. i know, i dont want to, i dont want to she kept saying partially to herself. She watched him..... no you cant go back to your mom and homeschooling,no no no, dont you see your moms ruining you, look at us, we're wrecks....because of our parents she told him watching him throw the rock. She watched as Brandens dog chased after it before coming back just kind of wandering around the two of them.....

Katie didnt know what to do at this point she didnt know where to start how to start. She got out her cell phone and texted branden just hoping he had his phone on him, she told him what time it was, where they were and that...they needed to talk... She closed her phone. She was almost angry at the moment. Her dad couldnt make her move, he couldnt he didnt have the right she was almost eighteen she could do whatever she wanted to do....anything. It was her life not his, he couldnt make her. She started talking up a storm in italian watching the water almost as if she wasnt there just taling away she didnt even know what she was saying.... She calmed herself after a minute looking lost and a bit broken still she hoped Branden would make it out but she couldnt be sure......she tried to calm Anthony down talking to him trying to callm herself down to.

[Anthony Wallace]

He could hear what Katie was saying but he was still shaking so bad that he knew he wouldn't be able to talk. Neither her or Branden probably knew that he was at every single home game weather, it was football or a track meet. He'd always be back off in the crowd watching and wishing that things had really turned out differently. He knew that if Branden would have noticed him he'd get asked if he was there but so far he hadn't been asked that. The tears continued to make their way down his face and he knew that if it wasn't for having Toby there, and Katie being here that he probably would have taken off by now. And he could run for a long time and cover a lot of ground, part of that was from him going out running almost everyday. The other part was from him trying as hard as he could to try and get as far away from his mother as he possibly could. One time he'd ran all the way into the next town that was about eight miles away. He could now hear Katie talking in some other language and he wondered what she was saying for a brief second before he heard footsteps.

Branden had gotten Katie's message and he'd been at home casually flipping through the newspaper. But in under thirty seconds he was out the door and driving as fast as he ever did out to the beach. He was scared that Anthony had lost it again, he hated it when that happened and every time it made him want to tell him that he was moving in with him. He knew that Josh wouldn't care, he knew how he had a soft spot for Anthony. He quickly parked his truck and then looked out at the beach and saw Anthony and Katie and his fears were confirmed. He took off toward the two of them and slid to a stop just in time. If he hadn't stopped where he had he would have ended up in the water. He moved over to where the two of them were and the sat down. "Anthony, it's me everything is going to be alright honestly." He said and then looked over to where Katie was, he wondered how long Anthony had been crying. He just hoped that he would be able to get him under control before he lost it too. He then reached over and placed a hand on Anthony's arm.

As soon as Anthony heard Branden's voice he wanted to tell him everything that had happened that he hadn't told him. He wasn't going to tell him what Katie had told him though, no he'd never betray Katie like that. He felt Branden's hand on his arm and he slowly pulled away from Katie before he quickly buried his face into Branden's shoulder and continued to sob. "Why does she have to try and ruin everything? Doesn't she know how much it hurts when she puts me down all the time? It's just not right. Does she not know how lonely I got being home all alone during the day." The words just shot out of his mouth and he knew that nobody could probably understand them considering that the words were muffled. As far as he was concerned there was only a handful of people that were keeping him for ultimately giving up on things and letting his mother send him off to a boarding school like she sometimes told him was going to happen.

"It's ok Anthony, your mom's not going to do any of that anymore. Just relax, I know how hard you've had things. And don't listen to what she tells you that's putting you down. We both know that you're a good kid and that she's the one with the problems." He said as he held onto Anthony and subconsciously ran his fingers through his hair. Anthony was like the little brother that he'd always wanted but then inherited through some pretty sad circumstances. He felt as if it was his job to protect him and make sure that he was fine. He could tell that Anthony was starting to relax now and that the tears were slowly starting to fall less. Although all of those tears had soaked through his shirt but he could take care of that easily. After all, they were near a lake and it would be easy to just "fall in".

He could feel Branden running his fingers through his hair and he knew exactly who he'd picked that little trick up from. "It's just so hard to believe that." He said and then all of a sudden the tears just stopped falling and he slowly pulled away from Branden and then rubbed his eyes before looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry." He said as he looked up for a moment at Katie and Branden before quickly bringing his eyes back down again.

[Katie Clark]

katie was holding anthony in her arms when Branden came up. She could easily tell that he'd been through this with anthony before and sat quietly lettig him take over. She just watched sitting where she was, she realy didnt know what to say what to do.... It was like branden didnt know.....wait....Branden DIDNT know..... She couldnt take her eyes from him small smile coming to her lips but her eyes were almost a bit watery as she bit her lip. She let eerything pass by with anthony only listenin to them talk. She wanted to tell him that it wasnt his fault that it was his mothers, that she should have died instead of mike....But words would come out of her mouth at the moment

Her attention partially wouldnt leave Branden...Anthony did need him like a brother....but at the same time....She'd called him out here for her.....and she looked to anthony a moment as if for some help here some confidence mabey.... When Branden ran his hand through anthonys hair she could only tell how much he looked out for anthony and she just melted more and hs eknew that she had to figure out what to do.... Branden, theres Something ELSE you need to know too she said looking to anthony again her face going a little red she kept telling herself over and over and over again in her mind that she would cry, she wouldnt cry, she wouldnt cry....

But she found a few tears coming down her face, thinking that it had to be one of the first times since she'd move here, it feld odd..it wasdifferent and she truely tried to stop.... my dad...is... starting a new lawfirm in la......he wants us to she stopped her jaw clenched before it was her turn to hold onto him her arms going around him only a minute or two later looking up he wants us to go out there she told him her hands digging into his shirt more her head laying on his shoulder as she looked as if she might break apart at any moment....(short but theres drama like the other one)

[Anthony Wallace]

He could tell that this something else wasn't going to be a very good thing. When she started to cry he just wanted to lose it himself. But he knew that wouldn't solve anything so he simply kept everything together. He listened to what she said and he wasn't surprised when her arms went around him. He was surprised by what she said next and a look of pure shock appeared on his face in a matter of seconds. This wasn't happening, it all had to be some weird dream that he was having. But deep inside he knew that all of this was happening, the good thing was that since it was real he could try and stop things from happening. "No, you're not moving tell you dad that he isn't going to be the boss of your life soon so you're going to take things into your hands a little early." He said with an angry tone, he wasn't mad at her, he was mad at her dad for plotting to take Katie away from him. "Don't worry, we'll think of something. You're not going anywhere if I can help it." He said quietly, there had to be a way that she could stay here.

Anthony sat there quietly as he heard Katie and Branden speak to one another. He knew that he should give them some privacy so he might as well take Toby off of their hands too. Even though he knew they would both know that he was going to the other end of the beach to give them privacy. "I'll be on the other side of the beach if you need me. And I might as well take Toby with me because he'll probably follow me anyway." He said and then began to make his way over to the other end of the beach. He looked behind him and sure enough, Toby was following him. He took off at a slow jog and watch as the puppy happily chased after him. He really did hope that things worked out for Katie because going to a public school again just wouldn't seem the same if he couldn't talk to her face to face. After all, she was better at knowing how the female mind worked (obviously since she was girl). And she'd know how to deal with a ton of girls following him around. That was already starting to happen and he wasn't so sure that he liked it.

"Ok Anthony, but make sure that Toby doesn't go to far into the water otherwise you're going to go get him." He said and then smiled slightly, Toby could swim but he just didn't want him going off into the deep parts. He then turned his attention back to Katie and a serious expression appeared on his face. "I don't really think that I could hide you in my closet but I'm sure that if I can get Sean into this little problem then I'm sure one of us can think up a solution to this." He said and then wondered if she had told Sean about this, if she had he wouldn't be mad at her.

((If that's bad I blame it on the fact that I'm hungry and am going to get eat some supper. Hmm, PB&J or cereal..decisions decisions))

[Katie Clark]

katie just let her head rest on his shoulder........he was right this wasnt happening.....this wasnt happening, it couldnt be happening, it was a dream So WAKE UP....She thought about pinching herself but she was yellig at herself in her mind, she was a fool, this wanst a dream. her arms wrapped around him a little tighter, as if afraid that if she loosened her grip just a bit she'd be in a new place in a new school and he wouldnt be there, he'd be thousands of miles away doing who knows what else, mabey even with a different girl.....

Katie shuddered at the thought. She looked up at him a moment almost just to make sure he wasnt mad at her but she could easily tell that he wasnt. im trying she told him in an unusually quiet voice, usually her tones were loud, outgoing and just all around bubbly, but now they were quiet, and unsure. i hope not she told him truely hoping that she wasnt going anywhere....

She watched Anthonyleave and nodded she figured that he was either going off to gather himself from his own slight crisis another thing that she felt bad about she usually would be worrying about him right now throwing all her attention ti ..well branden of course, but anthony also trying to help him but she was so caught up in all this moving stuff she felt a little selfish... She watched him jog down the beach brandens bouncy little puppy bounding behind him and wiped her eyes ... i already talked about the possiblity of moving with sean....he wanted me to move into his attic, and anthony offered me above his garage....but i didnt know...i wanted to talk to you first she told him just looking out at the water right now sort of mezmorized again see what you thought i should do......? she said her green eyes turning up to meet his

[Branden Devereaux]

He listened to what she said and he was glad that she wanted his opinion about things but both of those options were pretty good options. And he did have to admit, that Sean must have been really thinking when he offered her the attic bedroom. He'd actually forgot that there was a bedroom in the attic because they were never up there. Unless you could the time that there was a bat up there and he had the pleasure of seeing Sean take off down the stairs as the bat flew out of the door. But now he was really going to have to think hard about those two places. They both had their pros and cons so it would probably be up to Katie to decide where she wanted to go. "Well, both of those places are really good ones. So it's really up to you to decide but I'll try and help that decision. If you went with Sean's idea then you'd probably end up seeing an awful lot of me. And not to mention, his parents don't believe in food that comes out of the microwave and Sean's always telling me they want to make him fat." He said and then looked at her as he tried to think of something else to say about the place. "The downside is that I don't know if you're really that into sports and there's always sports on the television. But..if you asked Sean nicely I'm sure he'd love to play the job as electrician and somehow get it so that there was satellite in your room." He said and then watched Anthony and Toby for a minute, he'd have to tell Katie the surprise that Anthony was going to get soon.

"Now, if you went with the garage apartment you'd have a lot of privacy. And his mom wouldn't bother you because she hates that apartment not to mention she's not home too much. The downside is that when she is home you might hear parts of the fights that his parents sometimes have. And up there is one of Anthony's hiding spots when he wants to get away from her. But I'm sure that he'd find another place if you didn't feel like letting him hide out up there." He said and then looked at her, he really didn't know which one she should choose. "If it was up to me the logical answer would be to go with Sean because you're really good friends with him. But if you went with Anthony's idea you'd be less likely to get into trouble with your partner in crime and you'd help him not be so lonely at times." He said and hoped that he had been able to help her somehow. Things somehow looked a little brighter then they had just a few moments ago.

His attention turned back to Toby and Anthony for a moment. "Don't tell Anthony but he's getting a puppy for his birthday. I've just got to find him a suitable puppy. His dad told me that he didn't care about how his mom would react and that he was getting a dog no matter what." He said and then smiled slightly, he already had a dog in mind for him. A couple of weeks ago his grandfather's Golden Retriever had puppies and he knew that he could get him one of them.

((I hope that's satisfactory because I had to stop because it's my bedtime..darn bedtime gets in the way of everything.))