***

They used to be inseparable. 

William and Sophie Hargrove pledged to face the world together. They were as different as rain and snow, but they loved each other through and through. Their mother would take them surfing on the Californian beach, and the golden sand would always stick to the little hairs on her skin. Sophie used to taste the salt water on her lips as it stung her eyes.

She missed that beach. And she missed their mom.

When she left, everything changed. William became Billy, a boy she didn't want to compare to their dad. Though he was already a monster, Sophie didn't want her brother to turn into one. So she stuck by her pledge that they would stay together no matter what.

But as Sophie stood in the eye of the storm, her brother was the hurricane keeping her prisoner. He ensured they would stay together, which meant isolating his sister from anyone he thought could harm her.

She wasn't even allowed to talk to their young stepsister when he was around. The rule was still in place as they drove to their new schools.

"God, this place sucks." Billy's eyes glared at the road ahead with a loose cigarette dangling from his lips. His grip on the wheel strengthened, tugging at the breaking leather. "Don't you think, Soph?"

"It doesn't look bad." She commented, earning a look of disgust from her brother. Sophie cleared her throat. "Of course, exteriors don't match the interiors. So you could be right."

He wasn't. 

Hawkins looked like the perfect suburban neighbourhood for families like theirs. It had an arcade, a movie theater, and they were building a new shopping mall nearby. It seemed like a nice place.

A sharp puff of smoke escaped his mouth, wafting in Sophie's face. Her lip curled with a slight cough, though Billy did not care. He glanced in the rearview mirror, looking back at Max. "I bet you're already planning your next jailbreak, right?"

She sulked in the back seat, looking out the window with her chin in hand. "No."

Before they moved here, Max tried to run away. Not going to lie, Sophie was kinda rooting for her. She didn't deserve her family's treatment, especially Billy's. He was angry at their dad, but Billy couldn't take it out on him. And he couldn't take it out on the hapless woman he married either, so he took it out on her daughter.

Maybe he was jealous. After all, Neil would never hit Max. No, he always chose to take out his pent-up anger on his own children. Sometimes, Susan and Max would be witnesses to his atrocities, yet they never intervened. The Hargrove twins suffered under his cruel rage, watching bruises and bloody wounds heal over and over.

Neil Hargrove wanted his perfect family, but he'd never get it.

Billy passed Hawkins Middle School, curving around the street to enter the parking lot of the adjacent high school. Max straightened up in the back as her stepbrother pulled in, driving like a maniac. "Hey! You're supposed to drop me off!"

"But I don't want to, Max. They're not paying us to babysit you." He yanked the handbrake before leaning over the car seat, facing her. "If you don't like it, maybe tomorrow you can walk."

He removed the keys from the ignition, tucking them into the right back pocket of his jeans. The car door swung open, and Billy's leather boots slammed against the tarmac. His eyes scanned their new habitat, assessing who he wanted to fight and who he wanted to fuck.

Sophie exited the car next, pulling the front seat forward to let the other passenger out. Max grabbed her board with a pinched expression. She scooted out of the vehicle, ignoring the courteous blonde as she took a breath of fresh air. The skateboard landed on the cracked ground before Max stepped on it.

"Um," she put on a cheery disposition, "have a good day!" 

Not that her stepsister cared for her kind words, skating away like it was nobody's business. Sophie wanted things to be different. She'd always wanted a sister, but Billy just had to ruin things.

Her brother snarled. "Who are you, her mother?"

A quick glare from Sophie did not lessen his bad attitude -- it never did. With a soft sigh, her gaze returned to the other direction, watching Max's vibrant orange hair disappear into the distance.

She slammed the door, her fingers grazing the scratched sheen. Her blonde hair ruffled against her oversized blazer as she strolled over to her brother, their eyes glued to the school building. "You're not planning on getting expelled, right?"

"I don't think Dad would approve, you know?" He tossed the finished cigarette away, narrowly missing his sister standing in the way.

Billy sauntered off, adjusting his jeans as he passed a trio of three girls -- their eyes glued to his ass. They whispered and gossiped to each other, placing the Hargrove boy in their respective fantasies.

Sophie chewed the inside of her cheek, her hands gripping together. "I know."

The girl walked with her head tilted to the ground, following after her twin. In the background, unnoticed by the young blonde, they were being observed by a couple leaning on the edge of disaster -- only one of them knew of course. And it was strange to see these new faces in a crowd of people they had grown up with. It was kinda exciting, though their interest in the newcomers was kept to a minimum.

Though she struggled to catch up with her brother, they still managed to enter the school together. There weren't many people inside, making things simpler for the slightly anxious Sophie.

At the other end of the hallway, she could spot the main office where they needed to go first. As Sophie took a few steps towards it, in the corner of her eye, she noticed Billy pivoting in a different direction.

She turned back. "Hey, where are you going?"

Billy stopped, shaking his pack of camels. "Smoke break."

Her mouth hung open. "You just smoked."

He shrugged it off. "Yeah, I need something stronger."

Having more than one cigarette in the morning did not make the average person stronger. If anything, it weakened them. His lungs were going to shut down if he wasn't careful. Then again, Billy Hargrove was never careful when it came to his own life. 

Sophie stared back at him, her mouth hanging open. "Are you seriously skipping class on the first day?"

"Depends what our first class is." He said.

"We'll find out when we get our schedules." She motioned a hand towards the main office.

He nodded, gesturing for her to go ahead. "Alright. You do that then."

Sophie's shoulders dropped, her sneakers scuffing the floor. "Billy, don't."

"Relax, okay?" Her brother fished for his lighter in his jacket pockets. "I'll meet you back at the car in, like, an hour or something. Don't be late and don't get lost."

She huffed. "I won't get lost."

"You always get lost." And just like that, Billy Hargrove disappeared into the men's bathroom, poisoning his respiratory system with smoke and tar. 

Sometimes it felt like he wanted to die, and he'd curse the heavens when he'd wake up in the morning. Admittedly, Sophie would do the same on some days, but she'd never touch a cigarette herself.

With a steady gait, she approached the front desk where a receptionist in her fifties or early sixties sat behind a glass screen. "Excuse me?"

The woman peered up from her paperwork, scanning the teenager with beady eyes. "What do you want?"

She gulped, not wanting to do this on her own. "My brother and I need class schedules."

The receptionist tapped the rim of her glasses, sorting through administration. "Names?"

"Sophie and William Hargrove." She answered.

Her eyes narrowed, looking up again. "Where's the other one then?"

Her voice heightened. "He's in the bathroom. I said I'd collect them."

Despite the clear lie, the woman somehow bought it. "Alright then." 

In her wheelie chair, she scooted towards the filing cabinet behind her. Once her back was turned, Sophie sighed in relief.  She hated covering for him though. The receptionist, reached into a low drawer, retrieving the things she needed. She returned to her desk and slid the class schedules through a slot in the glass screen. 

As Sophie took them in hand, the receptionist placed two keys, clearly labelled with distinct combinations, in front of her. "Here's your locker keys. Yours is two-seven-three, and your brother's four-seven-five."

Sophie tucked the keys into her blazer pocket before assessing her class schedule. Her first class was French, a language the twins abhorred, in Room 204 with Ms Sullivan. "Do you have a map?"

The receptionist, whose attention returned to her work, stared back at her with pressed lips. "You can read, right?"

She glanced away from the woman, confusion settling in before she looked back. "Yeah, I-"

"Then you should be able to find your class." The receptionist finished for her.

Sophie didn't move. "I'm sorry, how am I meant to find it without a map?"

Her head remained bowed. "The doors have numbers."

Her jaw tightened as she began to depart. "Thanks. You've been real helpful."

The receptionist waved her off in a shooing motion and spoke in an expressionless tone, not bothering to tear her eyes away from her work again. "Anytime."

Well, that was rude. If everyone else is like this then Billy might have a point about this shithole town.

***

Probably ten minutes later, Sophie finally located the right classroom. She checked the number on the door too many times before she had the courage to knock. Inside, a flock of students turned their heads towards her. A tall, thin woman stood at the front of the class, crooking her head.

Sophie opened the door, wringing her hand around the metal doorknob. "Sorry, this is French, right?"

"Oui." Ms Sullivan replied.

Her posture slumped a little, letting go of the door and allowing it to close slowly behind her. "Great. Thanks."

"You must be..." The teacher eyed her register, using her finger to guide her through the list. "... Miss Hargrove?"

She smiled softly, nodding. "Yeah, that's me."

Her brows furrowed, her gaze switching from the register to Sophie. "Isn't there supposed to be two of you?"

"Gosh, did I lose him?" Sophie jokingly glanced back over her shoulder. "Sorry, I had to walk through a jungle to get here. I fought off a lion." Her grip tightened around her class schedule. "Or maybe that was just a girl with a bad perm?"

A light cackle erupted from the right-centre of the room. Sophie and Ms Sullivan's heads snapped towards a short-haired girl covering her mouth to stifle it. No one else laughed except her, but it still made Sophie smirk, knowing someone liked it.

The teacher didn't seem to appreciate the joke, however. "All right, enough funny business. Where is..." she consulted the list again. "... William?" 

With a thick swallow, she lied again. "He felt sick, so he, er, went to the nurse's office."

Ms Sullivan pursed her lips, straightening her spine. "Why don't you take a seat at the back?"

"Thanks." In an attempt to dispel all attention, Sophie sped through the aisle -- only to immediately trip over someone's bag. Her legs toppled and her palms smacked against the floor; the class laughed at that. She looked to her right, recognising a girl with cool blue eyes reaching down to help her. "Sorry."

"It's okay." The girl handed Sophie her fallen items as she stumbled back onto her feet. "Here."

"Thank you." She escaped to her desk, clutching her things tightly to her chest as she slumped into the moulded plastic seat. 

First days sucked, especially for her. She couldn't wait for the end to come.

***

Part of the dialogue here was taken from Runaway Max, which is very good, by the way. You should have a read if you get the chance. So, some things mentioned in the book might be mentioned here as well.

I hope you liked the first chapter. I know her main love interest isn't there, but Nancy and Robin are (hope you picked up on that). The ending might suck because my brain is currently mush and all my senses are blocked up with mucus. So if there are errors, blame my flu-brain because it could not bother to brain.

Please don't be a silent reader and tell me what you thought.

- Alice.