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Holly Madden

0 · 1,915 views · located in New York, NY

a character in “The Lost and Found”, as played by Writer

Description

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Full Name:
Holly Jade Madden

Nickname:
Holls

Age:
16

Birth date:
June 1st

Birth Place:
South Bronx, NY

Homeless for:
2 years

Role:
The Young One


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Personality:
Her most notable characteristic is definitely how energetic she is. As long as she is awake, she makes her presence known through her constant chatter and curious questions. She struggles to keep her attention centered on one thing and is known to jump from task to task, and even stop mid-sentence in a conversation if something new catches her attention. She would never go out of her way to insult or be mean to someone, but lacks a speech filter and tends to say things that she overheard and weren't intended to be repeated, or ask invasive personal questions. She's naive, absentminded, inattentive and forgetful, but she rarely does any of this intentionally, and it's mostly related to her ADHD. It certainly gets annoying, especially when there are nine other people stuck in the same room as her, but she usually fails to see any signs of people getting tired of her. She's a cheerful and optimistic person, who, for the most part, is always happy.

One of her major faults is how dependent she is on other people. If it weren't for her sister, she most likely would already be dead by now. She is not intelligent book wise and the same goes for her street smarts. Not only does she struggle to read people, but like a child, she tends to trust everyone and expect them to be just as genuine as she is. Her naivety and overall delayed development is probably linked to her learning disabilities and drug damage done while she was in the womb, but the years of abuse probably play a role in it too. They caused her to become easily nervous, jumpy and emotionally unstable.

Likes:
Candy, dogs, sunny days, nail polish, hot showers, socializing, gifts, attention, watching movies

Dislikes:
Arguments, school, being called stupid, rain, milk, coffee, isolation, silence, darkness, bugs, spicy food

Fears:
"I hate spiders and clowns and the huge rats on the subway."
She has many "normal" fears, with spiders, clowns and rodents topping the list, but her biggest fear is probably school. She did so poorly throughout her academic career and it not only resulted in humiliation in the classroom, but physical abuse at home, so it's tied to painful memories for her.

Dreams:
"I want to get married to... hmm... probably Zac Efron... and have like four babies and buy a house away from the city... and have a swimming pool in our backyard!"
Holly's dreams vary drastically depending on the moment, but they all share the similarity of being virtually unattainable. What would be most beneficial for her at this point would to get her high school diploma or GED and manage to get some sort of normal job and living situation.


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History:
Holly was born to a teen runaway mother and a teen father who was never present in Holly's life and probably never would been, even if had he known he was her father. Her mother, Nancy, came from a family that was the epitome of the phrase "trailer park trash". Her father was an abusive addict who turned their tiny trailer into a meth lab, and her mother was too much of an alcoholic to care for her six children. Nancy dropped out of high school when she was fourteen with the intentions of helping to take care of her three younger siblings, help take care of her three younger siblings, but it was inevitable that she take a turn down the wrong path. Drugs and alcohol had always been such a common thing for her, and when she started a relationship with a twenty-two-year-old boy who lived a few trailers down from them, it became a part of her life. She started with alcohol and marijuana, and soon tested out heroin and crack. Using the drugs seems detrimental in itself, but things became even worse when Nancy found out that her older sister was also seeing the boy she was sleeping with. Even worse again, when she found out that she was pregnant with his child. It was an impulsive move, but she fled. She didn't tell her boyfriend or her parents that she was pregnant because she knew that they were going to tell her to get an abortion, or worse. Her family hadn't care for her when it was just her that they had to support, and another mouth to feed just wasn't going to be an option.

She was living in upstate New York at the time and boarded a train to New York City. She didn't know anyone there but was sure that a big city like that would have more resources to help her than any of the other poor, small towns in her area. The fifteen year old was desperate for help upon her arrival to New York, but was told that all of the shelters for teens and women had months-long waiting lists. Even pregnant, she was still addicted to drugs, with her drug of choice being cocaine, and rather than save the hundred dollars she fled with for food or a hotel, she sought out a dealer. It happened to be someone who worked for Rafael Barnes, one of the biggest drug lord's in the Bronx. The dealer thought Nancy might be helpful in their distribution game, and brought her back to their house. A few months later, she had Holly. It's a miracle that Holly even survived the pregnancy with her mother's poor habits, but six months after conception, she was delivered in an emergency C-section. Had the hospital staff really took interest in the family, they may have been able to prevent the poor life that Holly would soon face. She could have been put into foster care or even adopted, but instead, once she had reached a stable point, she was brought home. Home for her first five years was Rafael's drug-ridden home. After a drug raid busted up their group and he, as well as many of the other men in the house were incarcerated, Nancy was forced back out on the streets. This time, however, she had more connections. She had secretly been sleeping with Clinton Wright, the leader of another drug group, and was welcomed into his home.

Her life here actually made her first home seem desirable. Not only was Clinton equally involved in drugs, but he and the men he lived with were abusive and possessive. He quickly claimed Nancy as his girlfriend - something that she probably didn't mind - but he made it clear that he hated the fact that she had a child with another man, despite him having a broad of his own with many women. Clinton never touched Holly, but his brother, George, who resided in the house did. It began as physical abuse. If Holly ever dared to cry in his presence, he'd take off his belt and beat her with it until she learned better. Whenever her mother cared enough to acknowledge how poorly Holly did in school, it would result in abuse as well. School had never been her strong point. She suffers from severe ADHD, learning disabilities, and dyslexia. At her peak, she could read at a third grade level, but after two years away from school, even that has probably become a stretch. She had no academic support at home, and it didn't help that she was attending a school in one of the most underfunded districts in the nation. The school didn't have the resources to help a child like her and she was frequently held back, only managing to reach the fifth grade before she stopped going.

The abuse she was receiving at home only made her more emotionally unstable and unable to focus in school. If the physical abuse wasn't bad enough though, George soon stepped it up a notch. The sexual abuse started when she was eight and continued until the day he was arrested, when she was thirteen. The day of the arrest began normally. Ella had left that morning with her sister to go to school, but when they got home, they found the apartment in shambles. A police raid had taken place and it resulted in their mother, Clinton, and many others in the house being arrested and charged with a multitude of drug related charges, as well as some armed robbery and attempted murder ones. Apparently, they had been tied up in more than just making drugs in the kitchen.

Holly spent three weeks in a foster home before custody was given to one of Makayla's half-sibling's mother. The woman was only looking for the extra government assistance and despised Makayla more than any of Clinton's other children. She made it clear that if she wanted to see Holly or have a say in how she was treated, that she could pay for taking care of her herself. So, Makayla took her and after a few failed attempts at staying with some of Kay's friends, they ended up on the streets.

Job:
For the most part, Holly relies on her sister for money. Finn will give her a few dollars for washing glasses in the back of his bar, but besides that, she just gets her money from her sister.


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Height/Weight or build:
5'0 | 95 lbs | Petite figure

Eye color:
Brown

Hair color:
Naturally brown, although it has been dyed bright red for the past 2 years.

Other:
She has no tattoos or piercings. She does have a few scars on her back from the abuse she incurred.

Face claim:
Ariana Grande

So begins...

Holly Madden's Story

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Jackson King
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Holly was too busy racing up the flight of stairs to notice how flirtatious Makayla and Jackson were acting. She didn't like Jackson and had no reason to believe that Makayla liked him either, and for someone as blissfully ignorant as Holly, it was unlikely that she was suddenly going to become a detective and figure out that there was something else there. If anything about her sister was bothering her, it was still the doctor's visit that she had went on days before. The flu shot excuse seemed plausible but Holly didn't understand why she wouldn't have needed one either, and why it had taken Makayla so long just to get the shot. Besides, she hadn't seen any bandages on her arm. When she reached the top of the stairs, she spun around to face the pair that were a few steps behind her. "Move," she frowned at Jackson's, pushing him past her and then stopping Makayla before she could step up onto the ground level. She grabbed Makayla's arm and thrusted it towards her to examine it. "Where did you get your flu shot? I don't see any Band-Aids."

Since when had Holly become so suspicious, and dare she say it, observant? Makayla only had half a second between the moment she pulled her hand away from Jackson, and Holly spinning around and addressing them. Holly, who was usually overly pleasant, shoved Jackson out of the way to grab Makayla's arms and ask about why she didn't have any bandages from her flu shot. "They only give Band-Aids to the babies that cry," Makayla responded, a smile tugging at her lips. Behind school, needles were the next things that would guarantee waterworks from Holly. She pushed past her sister gently, but latched onto her again as soon as she saw how populated the bar was. Holly managed to find reasons to wander off when they were alone, and with so much going on here today, it was obvious that something would catch her attention. The smart part of Makayla told her that they needed to get out of there as quickly as possible to prevent Holly from offending someone with her many questions or knocking over someone's glass and having Finn on their case. As she watched Jackson remain a step ahead of them though, the devious side of her overtook that logic and she grabbed the back of his shirt to stop him. "Wait here with Holly while I go to the bathroom," she said, her smile instantly transforming into a smirk. Maybe she was having too much fun with this already, but he deserved it. The last part she was sure of, at least.

Jackson was still trying to wake up as Makayla coerced him into coming on her outing with Holly. Her bold actions and comments in front of Nick and Elena woke him up, and just out of reflex, he obliged and headed up the stairs to prevent her from saying any more. Before the pregnancy news, Jackson wasn't completely against being more obvious about his relationship with Makayla. On the plus side, if everyone knew that they messed around, Makayla could be honest with Cara about needing her to hang out with Holly so they could be together. However, if everyone knew, then Jackson also felt like it would be awkward. He would feel pressured into calling Makayla his girlfriend and even though he really hadn't been hooking up with too many girls, it would force him to stop even considering one night stands with other girls. Now, with the pregnancy news, he didn't know what to do. Again, it would make sense to come clean about it, because it would give a real reason for Cara to help Makayla more in terms of Holly, but also in terms of finances. Jackson was still considering asking her for money for the abortion. He had planned on doing it last night, but then Makayla walked in and he wasn't going to do that in front of her. He wanted it to seem like he was coming up with the money himself. He needed to get credit for something. At the same time, he feared that if he couldn't come up with the money and Makayla was forced to carry the baby to term, everyone would know it was his fault and he would be forced to take care of the child and Makayla. It wasn't a death sentence but Jackson couldn't stand the idea of not having an option in all of this.

He tried to keep his mood up for now, though. Makayla seemed to be trying to get under his skin, but she was in a good mood and he had that to be happy about. She was a smart ass but that was one of the things that he liked best about her, so it only seemed to fit her character that after Holly had consistently shown that she didn't want or like Jackson, she would abandon him with her. "No! I--" It was useless. Makayla had already darted away towards the bar's restrooms and Jackson could only sigh and turn back to Holly. "Alright, let's just wait for Makayla here. She'll only be gone a minute," he said, leaning against a wall near the bar's front door.

"I'm not friends with you so I don't have to listen to you," Holly objected, just for the sake of objecting. Between not getting to tell her story to Roman and him denying that they were best friends, Makayla dismissing her and still not being fully convinced about the flu shot story, and now having Jackson there to ruin her potentially fun day with Makayla, Holly's normal upbeat attitude seemed distant. It wasn't a usual thing for her, but every couple of months she would have an off day or an off few hours until something pleasing happened to make her forget what she was mad about. For the sake of everyone, hopefully Jackson was going to fulfill Makayla's promise of ice cream. "Me and Makayla don't like you, so can you go away?" Even in her bad moods though, Holly couldn't even come close to the levels of aggression or hatred that Brooklyn and some of the others so frequently displayed.

"If Makayla doesn't like me, then why does she always kiss me?" Oh well. Jackson tried to be nice and patient. He would claim that to Makayla when this all got back to her, anyway.

Holly was used to Jackson lying and saying things just to be mean, but this comment had her waiting a moment with a frown on her face before responding. "That's not true, Makayla thinks you're gross."

"She didn't think I was gross when she was laying on top of me last night. Naked." It was amusing watching Holly get worked up, so as he spoke, he couldn't stop himself from grinning. Holly had issues, that was common knowledge, but she was sixteen. It wasn't like he was talking about sex to someone who was actually five.

Holly was only used to Jackson pushing her buttons when Makayla was around to either stop it, or reassure her that he was just being mean. She didn't know what to say to that, so instead, she shoved him. "I'm telling Makayla you said that!" she snapped, as if it was going to do any good. She turned around, ready to burst through the bar in search of Makayla, but found her sister only a foot away. "He said you kiss him and lay on him when you're naked," she said, on the verge of tears as she clasped her hands around Makayla's arm.

Makayla had only reached the bathroom's door when the shattering of a glass immediately spun her around. Her first thought was that it was Holly. She had been trying to talk to someone who didn't want to be bothered, and had pestered them to a point where she was touching their glass and knocked it onto the floor. Makayla could imagine the customer doused in their drink and Finn ready to wring Holly's neck out. That image sent her hurrying back to where she had left Jackson and Holly, with a comment about how he clearly was not fit to be a father if he couldn't watch her for one minute, ready on her tongue. Instead, she found Holly shoving him with an distressed look on her face and before she could ask what was going on, Holly claimed that Jackson had informed her of their relationship. Makayla's eyes went wide, not only in shock from Jackson's audacity to say such a thing to anyone, but to Holly nonetheless. Jackson didn't know much about Holly's upbringing, so he couldn't necessarily be blamed for being insensitive about probably triggering memories of her five year's of sexual abuse. Still, did he always have to be such an asshole? She hadn't even come close to paying him back for getting her pregnant and yet here he was, causing even more problems for her.

Feeling like they were on the brink of causing a scene, Makayla mouthed 'fuck you' to Jackson, and silently shooed him out the front door. She stroked Holly's hair, praying that she could prevent her sister from spiraling into a breakdown today. "Don't listen to him, okay Holl? He's stupid, you just can't let him bother you. What do you say we stop and get ice cream before the park? That'll be fun, right?" Makayla didn't want to necessarily tell Holly that Jackson was lying this time. For a moment, she wondered if it would be easier to tell Holly that he was telling the truth and try to get the two of them to actually for a normal bond. Holly rarely got upset like this, though, so Makayla decided against it. When Holly stopped sniffling and nodded, she led her out of the bar to meet Jackson on the street. "We're stopping at one of the ice cream carts in the park for her," she stated, shooting him a warning look as they walked. If she didn't actually like Jackson, there was no way that she would still be up for forcing him on this outing today. More so, though, she needed him. Until the cash for the abortion was in her hands, she needed him around.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Jackson King
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"You can hold my hand or walk on your own but I can't move with you all over me, Holly," Makayla said, wrestling her arm out of the two-hand grip Holly was holding it with. Normally Holly was all over the place and wanting to do everything but hold her hand and stay within eye distance. Especially on days like today, where the streets were particularly crowded, it was expected that Holly would try to run off fifty times for anything from wanting to speak with a street vendor to thinking that she saw someone who looked like Cara in the crowd. Today, Makayla was experiencing the exact opposite of that. Holly wouldn't let go of her, and it wasn't just in a tight grip on her hand like Makayla frequently did to her. Holly had both of her hands clinging around Makayla's arm. Though Holly was small, so was Makayla, and the extra two inches and ten or fifteen pounds that she had on Holly didn't make it easy for her to support Holly's weight too. Because the streets were so busy, it was impossible to move with Holly all over her and after many attempts at nicely asking Holly to stop, Makayla's patience was running short.

She wasn't a psychologist and aside from one measly high school class, had very little knowledge on the topic. Being Holly's sister and having to take care of her for so many years forced Makayla into that role, though. She had learned to read Holly's body language and her words, even when they made little sense on the surface level. Right now, how clingy and silent, aside from tightening her grip on Makayla's arm, suggested that she was anxious. It had Makayla glaring at the back of Jackson's head as he walked a few steps in front of them. Just as much as she wanted to feel bad for Holly and be the nurturing sister that she tried to be, she wasn't physically feeling well and was already feeling sticky with sweat from that, and Holly being all over her was making her feel even worse. "I'm not playing today. You're going to start acting right or we're going home."

"Okay, I want to go home."

"And you'll sit down there all day. Without saying a word."

"Okay."

"And that means no fireworks or anything fun."

"Okay."

Fuck, Jackson really got to her, Makayla groaned through thought. She had no intentions on returning to the basement and was positive that Holly would have cracked at her threats, but apparently not. "No, you know what, Holly? I'm not doing this 'brat' thing today. You're going to start acting your age and aren't going to complain about it."

"I want to go home," Holly insisted, and the way that her voice sounded pleading and upset made Makayla wish that she actually was being a brat. She felt bad, but aside from this day being necessary to prove a point to Jackson, what would she do if she went back to the basement with Holly now? Sit down there, in the heavy heat, and have to deal with her touching everyone's things and upsetting people? It wasn't like she would actually go back to sleep or settle down with a quiet activity so Makayla could relax as well. It seemed to make sense in more ways than one that they remain out and about as long as possible. "We aren't going home right now. Don't bring it up again." She could tell that just as her patience was running short, Holly's was too, and Makayla just hoped that by barely acknowledging her sister's emotions, she would be less tempted to have an actual breakdown. Luckily, the park was now within distance and a minute later, they had caught up with Jackson who was standing by the fence.

"You're being really mean today." Her tone still wasn't perky, but the comment held some semblance to Holly's normal self, and Makayla was at least happy about that. She gave Holly's single hand that she now held, a gentle squeeze and tried to calm her own mood in the process. It didn't happen frequently, but whenever Makayla did try to put her own needs and wants before Holly's, she felt guilty soon after. "We're going to have fun today, Holls. I promise. Let's just try. You can get your ice cream and then we'll find the perfect spot in the shade to eat it, and we can play that game you like where we see how many dogs we can find, alright? What's our record from that game, anyway?"

"I think it was like... twenty-five. And that was the day I got the bonus points for finding the dog that looked like Chance from Homeward Bound."

"That's right! I forgot about that. Okay, our goal for today is to see more than twenty dogs. I bet we can do it." Makayla was being more attentive now than she was even on a good day, in hopes of ridding herself of this strangely clingy and upset version of Holly. She didn't give Jackson a second to even conjure a smart remark as they approached, before extending a hand and being him to speaking first. "She's getting ice cream." She waited until Jackson reluctantly handed over a few single dollar bills before turning back to Holly and handing them to her. "Okay, go pick out what you want from the cart over there and then meet us on the benches over there," Makayla said, pointing out the two locations. She waited for Holly to head towards the ice cream vendor before taking Jackson's hand and pulling him towards an empty bench a few feet into the park.

"You just love making shit more difficult for me, don't you? You fucking broke her," she hissed, slapping his shoulder as she sat down.

"More difficult? I think that's the first time that I've ever seen Holly not pissing everyone off by talking nonstop! You should be thanking me. Besides, it's not like I even did anything wrong. I told her how badly you want me, and we both know that's true," he smirked, standing in front of her.

"Okay, first of all, you're delusional, and secondly, just lay off of her today, okay? I don't have the energy. I'm too busy stressing over how you still have none of the money. Tell me I'm wrong."

"I'd be five dollars closer to having the money if you didn't force me out on this stupid trip," he reminded her as he sat down. I'll come up with it though. I mean, worst comes to worst, I'll ask Cara for the money. You know she's got it."[/color] Asking Cara for the money wasn't something that Jackson wanted to do, but only because it would be a blow to his ego. He didn't want to have a girl or a kid to support, but he didn't want to not be able to have either because he couldn't support them. However, realistically thinking, the money he needed for this abortion was an astronomical number that would take a hell of a lot of luck for him to come up with in time. Asking Cara for the money wouldn't be the worst thing he'd ever done, and being forced to live in a musty basement took a lot of pride out of people to begin with.

"No! You're not asking her for the money. I don't want anyone to know about this, Jackson!"

"I won't tell her it's for you then!"

"What are you going to tell her you need six hundred dollars cash for? Come on, Cara's stupid but she's not that stupid. If I knew she had six hundred dollars cash to give me with no strings attached, you can bet your ass I wouldn't be sitting here right now." Makayla and Cara still weren't in the best spot, but it wasn't that that was stopping her from wanting Cara's help. It was the bigger picture. This wasn't Cara's problem and Makayla wasn't going to throw her problems onto anyone else without trying out every route to solve it on her own. Jackson was the reason for this issue and Makayla wasn't going to let him get off that easy by begging to Cara on their behalf for a quick fix.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden
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The mood that Holly was in felt foreign and uncomfortable, even to her. She was almost always in good spirits, and when she wasn't it was usually just because Makayla refused to buy her something, or she was just overly tired and emotional. The optimistic and youthful personality that Holly had was almost entirely just the way she was. Her natural personality, combined with her learning disabilities, ADHD, and the damage that the drugs her mother consumed while pregnant did, her bouncing off the walls inevitable. It was arguable, though, that she had embraced this nature as a defense mechanism too. Her life had always been bad. She was born prematurely to a single, teenage mother who was addicted to drugs and subjected herself and Holly to a life of abuse in a drug house. She wasn't born with the advantage of growing up in a nice neighborhood, or attending schools that had the resources to help her academically or emotionally. The classrooms were overcrowded and understaffed and she barely received more attention at school than she did at home. The attention she did receive at home was worse than being treated as if she didn't exist, and with all of these things occurring at once, it seemed reasonable for a person to block it all out. In a way, Holly did that, and although once she and Makayla set out on their own, she wasn't being constantly triggered into having to put up a wall to protect herself emotionally, the behavior had become even more a part of who she was. Now, with Jackson striking the right chord in her, she was feeling defenseless, agitated and anxious. Jackson hadn't triggered anything as extreme as flashbacks, but him being mean and talking about Makayla in a sexual manner was simply enough for her to want to get away from him, even if that meant sacrificing a fun day out.

She insisted to Makayla that she wanted to go back to the basement no matter what the cost was, but it didn't work and when Makayla snapped at her to not bring it up again, she replied with an offended, "You're being really mean today." Holly didn't know why, but that triggered something in Makayla to soften up a bit, and she coerced Holly into getting ice cream once they approached Jackson. Not only was Holly interested in the dog-spotting challenge, but she didn't want to be around Jackson at all, so she headed towards the ice cream vendor with Jackson's money. There was a woman and young boy, probably aged seven or eight, standing in front of her, and the fact that Holly didn't comment on how she liked the boy's red, white and blue striped shirt said something of her mood. She couldn't even perk up when it was her turn to pick out one of the ice pops the man was selling. Her eyes scanned over the display pasted onto the front of the cart several times, but she just couldn't choose one.

"Why not get the firecracker popsicle? It's the perfect day for it," the man suggested, probably doing his best to remain patient as someone stepped onto the line behind Holly.

"No, I don't want that one," she replied quietly, refocusing on the poster. There was an ice cream sandwich, a Spongebob ice pop, a Chipwich, Creamsicle, snow cone... the options were endless, and normally it would have taken Holly two seconds to pick out whatever one her eyes landed on first. She felt too indecisive and in a move that was unthinkable for Holly, she slipped out of the line after another moment of thought and headed over to the bench that Makayla and Jackson were sitting on. She didn't even look towards Jackson as she stopped directly in front of Makayla and returned the money she had given her. "I don't want ice cream. Can we go home? I'm tired."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Jackson King
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Makayla's plan for an outing with Jackson and Holly backfired on her, and left her with a distraught Holly and a sneering Jackson, who had gotten out of the trip just as he had wanted. She didn't leave him before demanding fifteen of the twenty dollars he had left, and keeping the ice cream money that Holly hadn't used, but still, she hadn't intended on the day turning out this way. Then again, it wasn't like things ever went her way, so she wasn't shocked by her plans being disrupted. Makayla couldn't even muster up the energy to try to lift Holly's spirits on their eerily silent walk back to the basement. She knew Holly better than anyone else, but she didn't know this Holly well. On top of every other thing she had to worry about, she couldn't resist considering that maybe it was wrong of her to keep Holly. During some of their high conversations, Nick had reassured Makayla that keeping Holly out of foster care was the best thing she could do for her. Apparently, he had had a poor experience with it and Makayla knew he wasn't alone in that. Especially for someone like Holly, who would age out of the system soon, and had disabilities, it was unlikely that she would actually be adopted or find anyone that could adequately take care of her. At the very least, Makayla genuinely loved Holly and wanted the best for her. On the flip side though, she had to think about her own future. Was she prepared to potentially support Holly for the rest of her life? It was a question that she honestly couldn't answer, and she felt guilty for even not knowing.

One thing that she was sure of after this outing, was that she needed to get Holly back in school. If that happened, she could start a real job or even try to go back to school herself. Holly would get free breakfasts and lunches at school, so that would save Makayla at least ten dollars a day, and it would undoubtedly help Holly with her own future, even if she didn't appreciate it in the short term. Getting her back into school would be more complicated than just dragging Holly there every morning, though. As far as CPS knew, Holly was still living with one of Makayla's father's baby momma's and was being home schooled. It was probably legally possible to enroll her in school again, but it would probably be fishy when Holly reentered the system and had regressed rather than progressed. Besides that, Makayla couldn't trust that Holly wouldn't willingly admit that she had spent two years on the streets with her, and not in a home safe for a minor. It would fit Makayla's current luck that while trying to do good for Holly, she would end up in jail or something for it.

While it was concerning, it was also a huge relief when Holly fulfilled her promise of being tired and wanting to go to sleep when they got back to the basement, because Makayla was also able to nap for a few hours. She didn't feel great when she woke up around seven, and the hunger pangs didn't waste a minute before reminding her she hadn't eaten at all, but she had more energy than she had earlier. Surprisingly, Holly lay still beside her, and although Makayla considered taking advantage of this rare moment of peace and quiet, she was worried about Holly. It was rare that Holly slept soundly ever, nonetheless in the middle of the day, so after taking a quick trip to the bathroom, she nudged Holly until she showed signs of alertness. "Time to wake up, Holl. You want to go see the fireworks in a little while, don't you?"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Savannah had taken Elena's advice, but she hadn't shown Nick and she wasn't going to, not yet. She decided she was going to go check the place out. Make a quick buck and then maybe show him. Maybe. He didn't seemed all that interested in speaking with her. It hurt actually, Elena having been right about that bit. Clearly he wasn't all that interested since they've only been together once, and he hadn't seemed to want to since, he didn't even want to talk about it.

She was gathering her things, and remembered the journal she's gotten for Holly.

She grabbed the book and went to find Makayla and Holly. Finding them down in the basement, she walked up to Makayla, waiting after she spoken with Holly, attempting to wake her apparently.

"Excuse me, " She called to Makayla, the book in her hand. "I was out earlier and thought of Holly." She said with a smile in the small sleeping girl's direction. "She's mentioned how I'd gotten her after her birthday, and I thought, I'd get her something. It's just a journal, I thought it would be something nice to keep her thoughts down in, I hope you don't mind." She asked, tentatively, showing her the book She should have asked her before she bought it. It was the polite thing to do.

"I saw it and thought she'd love it." She said, handing Makayla the hardback journal.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Cara and Brooklyn ended up having a nice lunch at PRINT, with Cara ordering the summer vegetable platter and Brooklyn opting for the gargenelli. Neither seemed to count the amount of fruity cocktails they sipped on throughout the meal, but by the time it was over and Cara had paid the bill, they were both past the point of tipsy. It was fun, though. Cara was just glad to have Brooklyn back as a real girlfriend, now. She and Makayla had grown closer over the past two months, but Makayla was nothing like Brooklyn. It wasn't anything against Makayla either, though, because Cara was aware that all of the weight Kay carried probably prevented her from ever having the energy to actually do things that people their age did. That's why Brooklyn was so great, though. She was every bit as homeless as Makayla or Robbie or Roman, but she didn't act like it, and that made it easier to pass her off as an equal. Her tendency to add an expletive into every sentence didn't help when they were at nicer places, but it wasn't a huge deal, and for now, Cara was happy to have someone to hang out with on her own turf, without feeling guilty.

Following lunch, the girls caught a cab with the intentions of returning to the basement, but as they passed through a popular shopping street, Cara reached forward and obnoxiously tapped the driver on his shoulder, telling him to let them off there instead. "Let's buy something patriotic for when we go out tonight. You know all the clubs are going to be themed!" Cara suggested enthusiastically as she hurried Brooklyn out of the cab. Both girls were feeling even more reckless under the influence of the alcohol, and ended up hitting a few stores before returning to the basement with a few red, white and blue themed outfits. Luckily, Brooklyn had the sense to corral Cara into H&M as their last stop, so a majority of the items were from there and weren't outrageously priced.

It was a few minutes past seven when the girls finally made it back to the basement, and though Cara's buzz was wearing off, she was still intoxicated enough to be more outwardly friendly than she usually was. "Heeeeeeey girlies," Cara sang, announcing their presence as she and Brooklyn stepped down into the basement. She headed towards Makayla and Savannah who hovered next to Holly, who was in bed. "Brooke and I had the best day, and we're going out later if anyone wants to join!" she offered cheerfully, passing by them and over to her bed. She placed the shopping bags down beside her mattress and looked back towards Brooklyn. "The clubs don't open until midnight. What do you want to do til then?" Cara did get drunk frequently, but it was infrequent that she did it in the basement or when she was ever around anyone besides Brooklyn, and sometimes Nick. Here, she was known as a quiet girl who primarily kept to herself. She would help Makayla and Holly when needed, but was oftentimes out and about, doing her own thing. She didn't want to seem obnoxious money-wise, and personality wise even more. Still, it was July 4th, and that seemed like a valid reason to break that reputation she had, just for the day.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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With a few more nudges, Holly's movements made it clear that she was at least alive, but also, that she was still in this weird mood Jackson had put her in. Makayla wasn't sure when she had last seen Holly acting like this. It wasn't common for her to ever nap during the day, nonetheless want to sleep and actually request that they come home just to do so. It was even less common that when woken up, she would roll away from Makayla and hold onto whatever this grudge that she had was. Part of her wanted to return to trying to threaten Holly to stop being bratty, but she knew that this wasn't her being a brat. Holly was hard to take care of every day just because of who she was, but there was maybe only one or two days a month when she would act purposely problematic. Even then, those issues normally revolved around her wanting something that Makayla didn't have money for, or her being more energetic than usual and not going to bed or breaking something. Holly would give her a little bit of sass, Makayla would threaten to slap the attitude out of her body, and after a few minutes of sulking, she'd go back to being her normal self. The closest thing to this version of Holly that Makayla had ever seen was when Holly was sick and literally didn't have the energy to be herself, but this was still different because it seemed more intentional than forced.

The little bit of energy that Makayla's own rest had given her was the only reason for why she didn't just savor this silence and let Holly be. Instead, she recalled the reaction she had gotten from Holly when she brought up their dog contest earlier and decided to play into that type of playful and engaging persona for dealing with her now. She pulled herself into a sitting position and considered shifting and laying right on top of Holly if she refused to face her, but a voice behind her caught her off guard. She hadn't noticed Savannah coming in and was surprised to see her standing there with a notebook in her extended hand. She offered it to her, claiming it was a late birthday gift for Holly. It was pink, so that alone would win points with Holly, but Makayla wasn't sure how Holly would react to a journal being the gift. Makayla was pretty sure that Holly hadn't picked up a pen or pencil since the last time she was in a classroom, over two years ago. Savannah had no reason to know how much of a fiasco school was for Holly, so the thought behind the gift was genuine, and Makayla knew she should appreciate the kind gesture. "Thanks," Makayla smiled, reaching up from her spot on the floor to take the journal from Savannah. Holly had to have been awake enough to hear Savannah's presence, and her announcing that she had brought something for Holly specifically, so her sister remaining curled up on the mattress was still concerning. "Holly, Savannah brought you a gift. See? It's a notebook. You can draw in it," she suggested, knowing that the whole 'writing her thoughts' wasn't going to pan out as nice as it sounded out loud. She was still on Holly's back side, so she reached her arm over the redhead's body to dangle the book in her face.

Makayla's attention only shifted away from that when the back door sounded and Brooklyn and Cara came down. Between Cara's voice, which was oddly loud and obnoxious, and the shopping bags in hand, it was impossible to ignore their entrance. Besides Cara, Makayla still hadn't adjusted to Brooklyn being back and seeing her trailing along still seemed out of the ordinary. The little bit of unwarranted distaste that Makayla had for Cara after their incident threatened to grow at how obnoxious Cara's words were... talking about this being the best day and how they were all invited to go clubbing with her and Brooklyn. She was clearly drunk and Makayla was definitely jealous. Even if she wasn't in the mood for the drunk version of Cara right now, she knew that Holly liked her, and maybe that would be enough to get her acting normal again. "And look, Holly! Brooklyn and Cara are back. Why don't you go talk to them and see what they bought at the store. They have lots of bags." She nudged Holly again, and gently pulled her shoulder down onto the mattress so she could actually see her face.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Holly didn't have enough self-control where she would be able to stay mad at Makayla even after a nap on her own. When she woke up, her head felt heavier than ever and like it was pounding. For someone who spoke so much, it was surprising that she didn't get headaches often. This one was probably just a combination of eating too little, the heat, and messing with her sleep schedule, but to Holly, it felt like she was dying. The bad morning she had was probably making her mood worse too though, and she wasn't interested in waking up when Makayla pushed and prodded at her. Holly was normally content with wherever she was and whatever her situation was like, as long as she had Makayla, but right now, she noticed how her legs were sticking together until the blanket that was weeks overdue for a wash. She could feel the mosquito bites from the night before itching on her ankles, and was reminded of how Makayla would always tell her they would go away overnight and they didn't need to buy mosquito repellent or lotion at CVS. The lumps in the thin mattress felt like boulders against her side and she wanted to shove Makayla away when she nudged her again. "Go away," she demanded, in what came out as more of a mumbled whine. She really just wanted to go back to sleep, and it was a physical want more than an emotional one. If Holly could have been up and talking and running around, she would have been. Jackson had shifted her mood earlier, but it hadn't been that bad to make her feel this ill.

She heard Savannah come over but was still half asleep as she and Makayla spoke, and still when Makayla returned her attention back to her. She couldn't focus on anything other than her headache, even as something was dangled near her face and Makayla spoke about Cara and Brooklyn, who had apparently come downstairs as well. Holly didn't respond again, but when Makayla forced her to turn over, she cracked one eye open just enough to take in a fuzzy image of her sister without being blinded by the artificial basement light. "My head hurts and I want macaroni and cheese," she complained, not taking notice to Savannah who still hovered above them or the two blondes who Holly was normally fascinated by. "Make the lights go away and get me medicine and macaroni and cheese, please," she requested before rolling onto her stomach and burying her face back into the pillow.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Thanks," Makayla smiled, taking the book. Savannah was about to turn to leave until Makayla spoke again. "Holly, Savannah brought you a gift. See? It's a notebook. You can draw in it,"

Savannah arched an eyebrow but left it alone. It wasn't it's intend use but whatever made her happy. It was in that moment that Cara came stumbling down the stairs, clearly drunk off her head, Brooklyn, not far behind. Savannah decided now was a good time to go. Her nerves were in no way shape or form prepared to deal with Brooklyn at the moment, and with the way she was feeling about the girl, just the idea of the woman, made Savannah want to reach up and tear out all of that lovely blonde hair.

Nick wouldn't like her much then...would he?

"Heeeeeeey girlies," Cara sang. Savannah held her contempt, she had nothing against Cara but right now, it was guilty by association. "Brooke and I had the best day, and we're going out later if anyone wants to join!"

Savannah almost laughed. Cara was clearly drunk, to ever suggest and outing with Brooklyn, after the incident at Forever21. God help them, if Savannah got any alcohol in her, who knows what would happen then.

Savannah gave a polite smile, as she was sure, drunk or not, Cara wasn't talking to her. She turned to make sure she had everything in her bag, before Holly snapped suddenly.

"Go away." The tiny girl said and Savannah frowned, that wasn't like Holly at all. Her maternal instincts on high, Savannah gave Holly a once over with her eyes. She seemed outwardly fine, but Holly was never disinterested in anything as far as she knew .

My head hurts and I want macaroni and cheese," She groaned and Savannah clicked her teeth and placed a hand on her chest. Poor thing, she thought. "Make the lights go away and get me medicine and macaroni and cheese, please,"

Savannah pursed her lips and knelled down.

"Do you mind if I?" She asked before turning to Holly.

"Holly, Darling, it's Savannah, Are you alright, Love?"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Brooklyn's tolerance level was definitely higher than Cara's, but she too was feeling the effects of their lunch drinks throughout their shopping trip. By the time that was over, and she had convinced Cara into purchasing them a few nice, yet, in her defense, inexpensive outfits, the buzz was wearing off though. She was feeling tired and either needed another round of shots or a nap if she was going to stay awake all night like Cara wanted. Although Brooklyn could normally hold her liquor, she was sure that her body would thank her if she opted for the first option, so she planned on doing that. When she and Cara actually got down to the basement, she wasn't so sure if she'd be able to sleep, though. Not seeing Nick was a relief, but Savannah was there, along with Makayla and Holly. Surprisingly, even with Holly there, Cara was still the loudest voice in the room, but as Brooklyn passed their section, it looked like Holly was either asleep or just waking up, so it made more sense. She continued walking past them, managing to resist rolling her eyes after catching a snippet of Savannah asking Holly if she was okay. Makayla was sitting right there. If anyone was going to make sure Holly was okay or be concerned for her, it was going to be Makayla. Brooklyn didn't know the context of the situation, but she just assumed that Savannah was irrelevant in it because she wanted her to be.

She was glad that no one responded to Cara's open ended invitation to join them later that night. She and Makayla had disliked each other since day one,but compared to how Brooklyn felt about Savannah, Makayla was like a sister to her. It would only fit what little Brooklyn knew of Savannah's personality, for her to want to come just to try to one-up Brooklyn or ruin the night in one way or another. "I need to sleep. My liver is probably on the verge of dying, but I think I'm going to get food first. Finn's is probably packed, so let's go get takeout somewhere. Maybe Panera or that little Italian place down by the park?" She suggested, shuffling through her bag to confirm that she still had nearly all of the cash she had left with that morning on her.

Although she hadn't heard Holly's request for macaroni and cheese, she was thinking on the same wavelength as her in terms of being hungry. She doubted that she would be able to fall asleep now, on a stomach empty aside from alcohol, with Savannah lingering nearby, so it made sense to kill some time by getting food. She was no more than tipsy at this point, but it was enough to make her actually extend an offer to Makayla and Holly. Maybe it wasn't so much the alcohol as it was her wanting to seem nicer than she really was in front of Savannah, but either way, as she shifted up from Cara's mattress and on to her feet, she looked towards the trio. "Cara and I are going to get takeout somewhere. Do you guys want anything?"

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Nearly all of the time, something or someone new was enough to distract Holly from whatever problem she was having. Makayla knew that this wasn't a normal Holly mood, but she had no better idea to shake her out of it than to let Savannah give it a try. Holly had always seemed to like Savannah since she arrived, and though that wasn't surprising given Holly's friendliness, Savannah bringing her a gift today gave an added benefit to the interaction. Makayla didn't know what Savannah was planning when she asked if she minded, but she nodded to signal it was okay. She didn't know where to get macaroni and cheese, aside from Panera Bread where she'd probably be charged at least five dollars for it, and really didn't have the money to spend on a bottle of Advil either.

She could probably find a store on the block that would sell her a box of macaroni and cheese for a dollar or two, but not only did she not have milk or butter to cook it with, but Finn's kitchen was definitely bustling today. Though when she was desperate enough to save Holly's leftover chicken nuggets and fries and reheat them for the next meal, he was kind enough to let her use the bar's appliances, Makayla wasn't going to test it today. Earlier she had seen how busy the bar was and she only imagined that by now, it was even more crowded. Now, she could only bank on Savannah somehow working magic and distracting Holly from her headache and macaroni and cheese craving. "Maybe McDonald's has mac and cheese today since it's a holiday, Holl," Makayla suggested, though she knew there was no way it was true. She knew Holly needed to eat something, but she didn't want to blow a ton of money on it, especially when with Holly's track record, she'd take two bites and claim she was full.

Makayla decided that before she did anything, she needed to smoke, but before she could get up and go to Jackson's section to see if he had any weed on him, Brooklyn spoke up. Makayla had done her best to ignore both her and Cara's presence, but with just her, Holly and Savannah down there, she was sure that Brooklyn was addressing her over Savannah. Makayla wasn't sure if Brooklyn was offering to buy them food herself, or if she was just offering to pick it up and expected cash to cover it. Either way, she had too much pride to directly answer the question, and deflected it to Holly. "Holly, Brooklyn wants to know if you want anything to eat," she echoed, now standing up and inching towards Jackson's section of the warehouse. Her rummaging through his things would probably be peculiar, but she was desperate for something to calm her down right now, and she decided that if asked, she'd just claim he stole something that she was looking for or that he owed her money.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Holly was hot enough to want to kick the thin blanket off of her, but when the first response she got to her request wasn't a confirmation that macaroni and cheese and a painkiller were on their way, she pulled the blanket over her head and rolled away from Savannah. "Noooo, I want macaroni and cheese and medicine," Holly repeated, her voice still a whine that would have had her with a hand print on her cheek if she was still living with her mother and her boyfriend. It was true that Holly normally would have wanted to engage with Savannah, but she wasn't in a typical mood right now and just wanted the things that she was convinced would make her feel better.

Holly didn't respond to Makayla's comment about the possibility of McDonald's having macaroni and cheese for her. Her head was bothering her too much to question things, and she didn't care where it came from as long as she had it within the next two minutes. Her whole body felt restless and uncomfortable and if she didn't fall back to sleep or get what she wanted, it was likely that she would have a meltdown. She tried to have control over her emotions, but especially at times like this, it was hard. She felt like she needed something to survive, and since she didn't know how to get it on her own, she would cry until Makayla got it for her. It was definitely an unhealthy behavior for a five year old, let alone someone who was more than ten years older than that. Although she wanted to remain hidden under her blanket, the heat underneath it was making her feel worse so she dramatically flung it off of herself and pulled herself into a sitting position. Savannah was kneeling down beside her and Makayla was on the other side, distracted by whatever Brooklyn had said. Holly didn't understand why either of them were still there, though. Did they not hear her? She wanted macaroni and cheese and medication for her headache. "Will you get my medicine to fix my head?" she asked, distractedly pulling on one of Savannah's curls and watching it spring back into place. There was little time for Savannah to answer before Makayla spoke and repeated the question that she had missed Brooklyn asking herself. "I want macaroni and cheese," she said again, her voice instantly switching from the quiet, yet normal one she had used with Savannah, to a whine.

She still didn't feel well, but now that she had been woken up and someone seemed remotely interested in fulfilling her wish, she got up and walked over to where Brooklyn stood. "Can you get me and Savannah and Makayla macaroni and cheese? Because I think I'm going to die without it, and Savannah and Makayla love mac and cheese too." As the sleepiness wore off, her personality was starting to shine through a bit more, but adjusting to daytime wasn't going to make her feel any better physically.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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"Noooo, I want macaroni and cheese and medicine," Holly whined, ducking under the covers. Savannah clicked her teeth. It was then that Brooklyn spoke, but Savannah was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with the pixie of a girl to hear her, Holly had and turned toward her. A little hand reached up, and gave a small tug on Savannah's curls. That made Savannah feel a bit better that Holly was just unwell and not sick, since she seemed to be well enough that she was able to be distracted by her hair.
"Will you get my medicine to fix my head? She asked, and at the point, if she asked Savannah to fly she would have, her voice was so sweet and more like herself. Savannah thought for a moment, and remembered she had had Midol from her last cycle and hadn't finished them, so perhaps with a little digging it might help. She got it from the dollar store and only four came in a pack but if she remembered correctly, she only used it once. What that would do for a plain old headache, she didn't know but it was better then nothing. As she searched through her bag at her hip, Makayla offered the girl MacDonald's, but Holly wasn't hearing that and whined about mac and cheese.

It was then that Holly rose from the bed, which was a good thing in Savannah's book, and walked up to Brooklyn. Savannah swallowed her pride at that moment, as the thought of Brooklyn being better suited to look after Holly then she was, ate at her.

"Can you get me and Savannah and Makayla macaroni and cheese? Because I think I'm going to die without it, and Savannah and Makayla love mac and cheese too."

Savannah hid her smile well. She just turned stood and watched Holly for a moment, before digging in her bag again.

"Makyala, I think I may have Midol, if the gods are good." She said, in her bag and her heart soared when she found the box with two unopened pills inside.
"And they are...Here, I don't know if that'll help, but it's better than nothing." She said handing it too her. She thought about asking if Holly had begun her cycle yet, and perhaps that might be the cause of the sudden onset craving for mac and cheese and headache but wasn't sure if she should. It was awfully rude but at the same time, it would probably help if this had only just began.

She turned to Makayla and leaned over some, speaking quietly.

"I don't mean to be rude, but...perhaps, she could be...experiencing her cycle...it would explain all this?" She offered, sheepishly, before moving out of her Makayla's personal space.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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"Mac and cheese?" Brooklyn repeated, her eyes flickering towards Makayla who surprisingly, hadn't shut down the request. No one in the basement (aside from Cara) had any real amount of money, so it shouldn't have caught her off guard that Makayla was open to her treating Holly, but it did. Brooklyn made enough between her two jobs that she could probably afford a studio apartment somewhere in the city with a little left over for food, but she was far too reckless and impulsive with her money to save anything up. By the end of the week, whatever she started with was basically gone. She had three hundred dollars in savings tucked away in one of her bins, but that was really the only money that she left untouched, and it wouldn't even be a drop in the bucket for an apartment's deposit fee. At least she had something though. For her situation, she was living comfortably, and Roman and Nick seemed to be like that too. They were all clearly impoverished, but if they were scraping by on pennies, they wouldn't have made it for so long out here. Makayla seemed like the one with the tightest budget in the group, but she had pride. They all did, and Brooklyn didn't blame her for not begging on the street, but not only was she supporting herself on a prostitute's wage, but Holly too. Even with the turbulent relationship she and Makayla had, Brooklyn respected Makayla for doing her best with that situation. She wasn't sure that if she was in that situation, with someone who wasn't actually biologically related to her and was that dependent, she would be able to do it. Given that Makayla never normally fed into Brooklyn's offers, and seemed offended by Cara's, she decided not to make any snide comments about it. It probably meant that Makayla needed the help and didn't want to actually ask for it.

"Okay," she agreed, taking a step forward before rethinking it, spinning back around and rummaging through a plastic bag on the floor. It was filled with a few empty alcohol bottles and a couple mini bottles of Absolut. She spun the cap off of one and drowned it in a few seconds, and tossed another to Cara. "You keep drinking. I like you better drunk," she joked, though the fact that she was willing to share her booze spoke to the truth in it. Besides, drunk Cara was even more generous, and she wasn't against Cara treating them to dinner to. "Come on, Holly, you're coming with us. Put on your shoes. Do either of you want something?" She still didn't know what was wrong with Holly or why she was claiming that she was going to die without the macaroni and cheese, but she was still buzzed enough to think she could tolerate her. Apparently, buzzed enough to look over to Savannah in an effort to extend the offer to her as well. "Let's see if Nick's upstairs," she said, glancing back at Cara as the thought came to mind. "I'll tell him to come with us too." The civil offer to get food for Savannah was probably negated by purposely announce she wanted to hang out with Nick in front of Savannah. Brooklyn didn't like to think of herself as being jealous or territorial, and she didn't want to fight over Nick as if he was some amazing prize, but she also couldn't shake the image of Savannah sitting on Nick's mattress with him the moment she returned. So, she would keep the ball in her court with Savannah. Be nice when she wanted to be, so Savannah couldn't prove that she was being a complete bitch to her, but then turn around and be underhanded and nasty whenever she felt like it. It wasn't completely out of Brooklyn's normal character anyway.

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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When Savannah brought up Midol, Makayla panicked. Holly had started getting her period in the spring, but it had been irregular enough that she had only actually had it once. That was supposed to be regular for girls who were just starting, and over the past two months, Makayla tried to reason with herself that it could somehow be normal for girls like her, who had had it for ten years too, before she found out that she was pregnant. It being common for girls who were just started negated any real reason for Makayla to worry about the irregularity but she was also glad that it was so irregular. Not only did it mean that she didn't have to deal with the mood swings, but more so, she didn't have to spend any extra money on feminine care products for Holly. If Savannah was right and this was the precursor to a week from hell, it couldn't have come at a worse time financially. Now, she definitely had no reservations in tossing Holly's potentially expensive macaroni and cheese craving onto Brooklyn.

She smiled gratefully as she took the pills that Savannah handed her and slipped the sheet into her pocket. "Yeah, it actually might be. Are you sure you won't need these, though? I don't want to take your last ones... I can always just run down to CVS, I'm sure she'll be fine anyway." Makayla felt worse taking from Savannah than she did from Brooklyn. She didn't know why, since Savannah didn't seem to be in any dire financial situation even without working, and for all she knew, had more money than Brooke anyway. It was probably because Savannah seemed so genuine all of the time. She did care about Holly, even if she didn't know her well. If Makayla wasn't biased against Brooklyn, the same could honestly be said for her. Brooklyn had a short temper around Holly but in a weird way, it was a gentler temper. She wouldn't snap at Holly with the same words or tone that she'd use for Makayla or Roman or even Nick, and though it wasn't frequent, there were times like this before where she'd actually take Holly out for a little while.

Brooklyn wasn't a nice person in general but It seemed like under those hundreds of layers of ice, there was a soft spot there. That was why Makayla didn't object when Brooklyn decided, without asking, that Holly would go out with them. With the complaining that Holly had been doing all day, if she wanted to go out with Brooklyn, Makalya wasn't in a position to say no. It would save her from a headache, paying for an overpriced macaroni and cheese, and give her some time to find the stash of weed that she knew Jackson had somewhere. Then, Brooklyn asked if either she or Savannah wanted something too. She watched how Brooklyn and Cara swallowed a shot's worth of alcohol with envy, and decided it wasn't right for her to dump Holly on them when she was in this mood. Especially with how Cara had already tried to take a hit at her pride, she wasn't going to give anyone another opportunity to prove that she was an incompetent caregiver to Holly. "My stomach's bothering me, so I'm not going to eat anything, but I'll walk with Holly," she explained. She searched her bag quickly, put a five dollar bill into the pocket with Savannah's Midol and got back to her feet, missing the comment about inviting Nick.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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Brooklyn seemed like a downer by wanting to sleep. Cara wasn't trashed to a point where she felt like she needed to sleep, even though it was probably the best thing for her at this point. She was up for the idea of getting food though, being smart enough to know that if she planned on drinking all through the night, she needed some food in her stomach too, to help absorb the alcohol. "I'll get a salad at Panera. I don't want anything too heavy!" Cara agreed, standing up a moment after Brooklyn did. Savannah, Holly and Makayla were still congregated together, until Brooklyn announced that they were getting food and suprisingly, asked if any of the three wanted anything. What was more surprising than the offer in general was that it did seem to include Savannah. Even drunk, Cara noticed it and narrowed her eyebrows at the move that was completely out of character for Brooklyn. Offering food to Makayla was weird enough, but Savannah? That was completely bizarre. Brooklyn hated her and hours earlier, had been calling her out of her name right to Cara. She had reason to hate her, too, and yet she was offering her food now? There had to be a catch. Cara didn't doubt the dramatic idea that came to mind, that Brooklyn would offer Savannah food and then poison it before she delivered it to her.

Cara was too focused on imaging how Savannah would respond to notice Makayla not shutting down the offer right away, and actually encouraging Holly to accept it. Maybe with Savannah being the new enemy, Brooklyn was planning on laying off of her Makayla-hating spree. Cara could definitely live with that. Before Makayla lashed out at her, she considered her to be her closest alliance in the basement. That was when Brooklyn was no longer living there, but still, she liked Makayla and didn't want to be put in the middle of any tense situations between her and Brooklyn. She barely had time to take in that Holly wanted macaroni and cheese and seemed to be in a bad mood, before Brooklyn was tossing a tiny bottle of alcohol at her and telling her to drink it. She didn't question why Brooklyn wasn't drinking one herself, and swallowed the bitter liquid before giving a disgusted expression, wishing she had something to chase it with. "Perfect!" Cara squealed when Makayla decided that she would come along as well. "We're going to have, like, a girl's night out!" she exclaimed. It was obviously easier for her to be excited and carefree when this really was like a normal girl's night out for her. She didn't have anything, aside from her awkward night with Roman, to worry about. What Brooklyn had said to her was true in the long run. She could go home whenever she wanted to. It wouldn't be emotionally easy for her, but she physically had a safe place to go when this life wore her out too much. "Come on, Holls! We're going to get you your mac and cheese!" Cara sang, nearly tripping on the end of Makayla's mattress as she bent over to grab Holly's flip flops from the ground. "Come on! Brooklyn wants to see Nick so you know she's in a good mood, and we need that to last!" Cara giggled, tossing the sandals obnoxiously in the air towards Holly. She stepped back out of the sisters' area and paraded towards the stairs. "I'll meet you slowpokes upstairs!" she added, though she nearly landed on her face as she turned her head back to look at the girls again.

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Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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It was weird to hear Roman apologize, probably because at this point, it didn't seem as necessary as it did the day Brooklyn returned. Nick liked to think that Roman wasn't trying to cause any problems by bringing her back, so it wasn't hard to believe it when Roman actually claimed that. Considering how little Nick knew Roman wanted to do with Savannah, he appreciated that all he offered right now against her was an offer to tell her to get out. That bit of animosity was probably far more civil than the things that Roman could say to her, and offering to try to get Brooklyn to calm down was definitely a sign of kindness too. Nick didn't think that was the best idea, though. Brooklyn was the type of person who didn't want to be told anything, especially how to act. If Roman tried to tell her to lay off Savannah when she was in the right mood, Nick could imagine it would end up with her trying to kill Savannah, and maybe Roman too. It didn't seem smart, but Nick didn't comment on it, or much of anything that Roman was saying. A response didn't really seem necessary, not only because they were at the bar now, but because Nick's occasional nods probably spoke to how he understood what Roman was saying. "I'll only be a minute," he assured, half a smirk appearing as he caught Roman's comment.

The bar was just as packed as expected, and though it was slightly annoying trying to maneuver between the many drunk bodies, Nick knew that it was good for Finn. Heavy business on days like today made up for the days that he barely got any business, and in the long run, the better Finn did, the better they all did. If he lost the bar, that would literally leave them all homeless. Nick sometimes thought about how a situation like that would pan out. He was sure that he would be able to find somewhere to stay because even today, if he really needed a place to sleep, he had people he knew through dealing who would let him use their couch. Nick had connections from his years on the street, it was clear that Brooklyn did as well, and with that, Roman essentially did too. Cara was a no-brainer, considering that Nick knew and had seen first hand that she could house all of them and then some. While Nick hadn't delved too deep into Elena's current predicament, she had made it seem like she would only be in the basement temporarily, so he was sure she had friends around as well. It was the ones like Makayla, Holly, Savannah, and even Robbie and Jackson, that he worried about. He didn't know where they'd end up, and what was scarier to think about, was that he knew he wouldn't be able to help them either. Nick wasn't the type of person who was donating every penny he made to the group and honestly, he rarely offered money to any of them. If anything, it was supplying free weed to some of them when he could tell they were stressed. Still, he liked to feel like he could help them if they needed it and a situation like that would just prove that he was insufficient. The thoughts left him feeling more grateful for Finn, and he decided that he'd try to wake up early tomorrow to lend a hand in cleaning the bar up. From the looks of it, and the stickiness he felt on the sole of his shoes, it was definitely going to need it.

As he closed the door leading to the stairs behind him, the air-conditoned air disappeared and he was met with the heavy and humid basement air. That wasn't all that greeted him, though. While the loudness of the patrons and music above could still be heard in a muffled tone through the door, and as he made his way down, the ceiling, it was much quieter in the basement. Not silent, however, and he was met with one of the louder voices before he even made it to the floor. "Whoa," he grinned, catching Cara as she stumbled on one of the lower steps. "You alright there?" He smelled liquor on her instantly. Not even the expensive perfume he was sure she was wearing could mask the smell. He held onto her arm and led her back down the stairs, seeing then that all of the other girls were down there as well. Brooklyn and Savannah were standing close to each other. That could not be good, but Nick was trying desperately to not let himself fall back into that state of anxiety. He could feel his chest tighten up, so once he was convinced that Cara was stable on her feet, he gave the four other girls a small wave and headed immediately towards his section. He was quick as he rummaged through his backpack and pocketed his wallet as he left the bag on his mattress. He didn't know what he was supposed to say with both Brooklyn and Savannah right near each other, but also with Cara, Makayla and Holly in the room. It was awkward, but Nick tried to convince himself that maybe it wasn't his job to be the referee. He couldn't force the girls to like each other, and he doubted that Roman even asking Brooklyn to lay off would do much good. Maybe he needed to let them work it out. It'd probably end up with a trip to the morgue, but he still didn't have an answer for either of them, and he didn't have an answer for Savannah, and he didn't think he was going to have it any time soon. "Uh, Roman and I are going to get dinner, so I'll see you all later," Nick offered when he was already a few steps up the staircase. He was sure, after saying it, that he had made the situation more awkward by even speaking at all, but the whole situation felt awkward to begin with. In another attempt to make things less tense, when he should have just shut up, he forced a smile and nodded back at Cara. "You better make sure she lays off the vodka, too. Her eyes are already red, white and blue, and it the night's barely started."

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Savannah Stonecraft*
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#, as written by Writer
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In a rare moment, Holly was content with listening rather than speaking. Brooklyn decided that she would come with them and told her to put her shoes on, and Makayla said that she would come too, but just to walk with Holly and not get any food herself. She was strangely not in the mood to react, but was forced to when Cara traipsed over and flung Holly's sandals at her. Even Holly, who struggled to pick up on a lot of things, could tell that Cara was drunk, but even her rambling about how they needed to leave now before Brooklyn's good mood ended, and the slowpoke comment that normally would have been translated into a challenge to race upstairs didn't change Holly's mind. "I don't want to go. Just bring it back for me, okay?" she requested, dropping her sandals back onto the floor and then sitting back down on the edge of the mattress. "Are you going to go back to the doctor since your stomach hurts?" she said, now looking up at Makayla. Her attention shifted momentarily as she heard Cara stumble on the stairs and Nick appear, but she was still too tired and out of it to jump up or greet him.

"No, you have to come, fresh air will make you feel better. And no, I'm not going back to the doctor. I'm fine, I'm just not hungry right now." She should have guessed that Holly would still be hung up on her going to the doctor's the other day. She didn't need any more of a reminder about how bad that trip went, and regretted bringing up her own health now. Instinctively, her eyes flickered back towards Jackson's vacant section of the basement as she swore to herself that she would beat his ass if he didn't come back with the money tonight. She was broke enough to want to take Brooklyn up on her offer to buy Holly food badly enough that she was skipping out on the very rare occasion that Holly actually wanted to sleep. As long as she was pregnant, she felt weird working the street, but as long as she wasn't working, she was completely dependent on Jackson for money. And she knew better than anyone, that Jackson was not responsible. She hoped and prayed that her threats would warrant him to pull through with the money this time. After the abortion, if he never spoke to her again, she would move on. She wouldn't care, and maybe she'd be better off without the chance of a second pregnancy happening. For now, though, she needed his child out of her, with his money.

Holly didn't want to go, and Makayla telling her that fresh air would make her feel better didn't make her want to go anymore. By now, on top of not feeling well, she was also being moody and being problematic just because, but she wasn't going to stop. "No, I don't want to go. Get it for me and bring it back so I can eat it in my bed." That sounded like a nice idea. Eating takeout in a stuffy basement, on a shabby mattress wasn't exactly the picturesque breakfast in bed scenario, but it sounded like a treat to Holly, who just wanted to sleep and have her macaroni and cheese right now.

Makayla's temper with Holly was definitely shorter than normal lately. She tried to be calm and patient with Holly, especially when she was complaining about feeling sick, but Makayla had been feeling sick for two months and no one was there for her. She couldn't act like a defiant child and still survive. She did everything for Holly and while Makayla didn't ever ask for recognition for that, there were times when she wished it wasn't her job. She did as well as she could to be a mother to Holly, but sometimes she felt like the lack of the true, maternal love that a mother is supposed to have for their child made her even less capable of tolerating Holly and all of the issues that came with her. With Nick coming in and Cara making a fool out of herself on the stairs, she hoped that Savannah and Brooklyn's attention would be diverted from her and Holly for a few seconds. She bent down next to Holly and squeezed her arm tightly enough to signal that she wasn't playing around. "You're going to get up and come get food, or you're not getting anything to eat for the rest of the night."

"But I don't want--" Holly began to whine, only to be cut off by Makayla pinching her cheeks together.

"I don't care what you want. I don't have money for you to get your macaroni and cheese and Brooklyn said she'll get it for you. So you either get your ass up and go with her, or you don't eat anything until the morning. Take your pick." She spoke quietly, not wanting to make a scene, especially when Holly was in a state where it wouldn't have been crazy for her to burst out crying, but with everyone so close together, Makayla was aware that they weren't in complete privacy. She maintained steady eye contact with Holly but released her grip on both her arm and mouth and stood up as she awaited her response.

Holly was surprised by Makayla's shift in attitude as she went from acting normally, to going more hands-on than Holly would have liked in just a few seconds. Although Makayla was better with Holly than anyone, it wasn't the first time that she had seen this side of her sister and Holly knew better than to continue to test her, even though she wasn't feeling well. "You're so mean to me," she whimpered as she slipped her feet into her sandals and brushed past Makayla and Savannah towards Brooklyn. "Okay, I'm ready," she declared as she approached the blonde, taking a few steps past her towards Cara. "Makayla's being mean to me. Can you tell her to go to work so I can stay with you tonight?" she asked, still not feeling energetic enough to acknowledge Nick or even ask Cara why she liked alcohol so much.

Setting

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Nick Moreno Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Savannah watched the others go on and couldn't help but arch a brow when Brooklyn offered to get her something too, she wasn't about to let that happen. She might very well poison it.

"No thank you," She said, graciously.

It was then that Holly and Makayla went back and forth like sister's do and Savannah just stayed out of it, it wasn't her place. Not that she really had time to think because Nick arrived with Roman, and honestly, everything else faded into the background. She had a 'gift' for him, but thinking about it now, she wasn't sure she even wanted to show him. She wasn't that girl yet, she would be, atleast enough to keep him interested but then at the same time, she shouldn't completely change who she was for a boy, especially one who didn't even know what he wanted.

Elena was right though, sometimes, you had to tell them what they wanted. She would be herself only...sexier, more interesting.

As Holly went to Brooklyn, Savannah decided it was time to go, and apparently so did Nick. . "Uh, Roman and I are going to get dinner, so I'll see you all later" He said and she pursed her lips. Not even a word.

She moved around the girls and toward the stairs, oddly enough she didn't excuse herself, like she normally would have. She was fastly getting over being polite, it amounted to nothing, not here anyway.

She did however excuse herself when she rounded Nick and took his arm, whether he wanted to go or not. "We need to talk." She said, and that was in the end of it, before she dragged him up the stairs and out of the way of everyone else.

"Look this isn't about us...if there even is an us, that's a conversation, neither of us has the time, or apparently the patience for.... " She said, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her words, nor the roll of her eyes. "I've decided to take the job" She blurted out before they went down that rabbit hole. "I need the money and it doesn't look like my writing is doing anything for me anyway, not whilst homeless anyway. I thought you ought to know." She said, and a part of her hope that he would protest, just a bit, that's why she hadn't just walked off. He hoped he'd tell her that she didn't have to do it, tell her something encouraging, because that's what boyfriends did. Atleast in her stories they did, Nick wasn't her boyfriend, atleast as far as she could tell. They slept together once a few nights ago, but she realized that, that didn't mean a damn thing and she hated being that girl.

Setting

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Character Portrait: Makayla Wright Character Portrait: Brooklyn Archer Character Portrait: Holly Madden Character Portrait: Jackson King Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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#, as written by Thunder
Jackson made around twenty dollars during a few July 4th pickpockets, but with it being a holiday, and especially one celebrating the American spirit, cops were all over the crowded New York streets. Security was amped up more than any other holiday in case of terrorist activity, but also just because of the sheer number of tourists. They were everywhere. New York was diverse to begin with, so hearing someone with an accent or speaking a different language didn't necessarily mean they were tourists, but the mannerisms always gave them away. Taking photos with the street performers dressed up in knockoff Elmo or Mickey Mouse costumes, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk as if there weren't one thousand people behind them, nearly getting plowed down by bicyclists... they were easily picked out by someone who knew the New York streets as well as Jackson. Even with all of the pressure that Makayla was putting on him to come up with the money, he just couldn't risk it. It was easier to think that way now, when the child was still just a tiny little fetus in her stomach, and not a screeching infant listed on his child support check.

When he decided he was finished for the day, he stopped by the corner store to pick up some beers with the money he had made, and ran into a few friends. They informed him that they were leaving the city that evening to head out to Long Island. Apparently, a friend of one of the guys had pulled off a ton of successful house burglaries in one of the nicer communities and had gotten a tip about a family that would be away for the weekend. The guy planning the robbery knew the family's maid, who had given him the code to their security pin system, and if all went according to plan, they'd be able to make off with thousands of dollars worth of stuff. They needed one more guy to help move everything out of the house and into the cars they were taking, and for his role, he'd be given one thousand dollars. He couldn't say no to that. There was no way. That was the largest sum of money that Jackson had ever been offered in his life, and the idea of having that much money made him feel tingly. A grand wouldn't go far in New York but elsewhere, it could get him an apartment for a month or two. That would be enough time for him to get his shit together and pick up some job, no matter how low it was. He could start over, and even if he didn't become as successful as his parents wanted him to become, he would become something. He wouldn't die out on these streets like he predicted would happen at this rate. At the time, he wasn't even thinking about Makayla or the abortion bill that he was supposed to foot.

As expected, he accepted the offer and agreed to meet them at Penn Station that evening. They would take a train out to the island, be picked up by the group of guys planning the scheme, and he would be back in the city by the next morning with his pay. The risk of committing such a major crime was stupendous compared to pick pocketing, but Jackson didn't plan on being caught.

"I have to talk to you. Come outside for a minute?" Jackson had entered the basement quietly through the alley entrance, and with all of the girls apparently being on their way out, he didn't seem to garner much attention. Holly was with Cara and Brooklyn by the stairs, and he had just missed Savannah leading Nick upstairs, so he had a quick second to get to Makayla before she gravitated towards Holly.