Coming Home To A Place That Never Changes (Open)

In the small town of New Airfield, Colorado, gossip spreads like wildfire. "Oh, did you hear? Madeline's child got arrested yesterday!" "You didn't know Elliot's son was gay?" Everyone knew each other's name, and if a boy were lucky he could go away from the town on a sports scholarship. Most went to work in the milk company just out of town, and marry his highschool sweetheart. And then, again if he were lucky, the cycle would continue.

Now, this story is about the boy who ran away from this town. After a tragic accident, he's come back to get away from all the sorrows. but how will his friends and family react?

Are you up for it?

Character Skeleton:
Full Name:
Age: (14-19)
Picture:
History:
Other: *Include your favorite cereal*

Mine!
Full Name: Alistar Benjamin Vegas
Age: 16
Picture:
History: Alistar knew since he was little that he wanted to leave his town. The snow got boring and too many tourists flood the mall near the small town. When he was seven, he left his friends and family with a note saying he was gone, and might come back one day. In Denver, he was taken to a group home, where he moved from foster home to foster home with no sucess. Once he got into sixth grade, they kept him in the group home. He met a boy named Oliver Jason Mavericks, who taught him to love with all your heart and don't be afraid to get it broken. When he was a freshman, Ollie crashed into a drunk driver, going into a coma and finally dying. Ali is now trying to find his way back home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

New Airfield looked like Ali never left it. Everything looked the same, not like he didn't expect it not to. The address of his parent's house was still fresh in his brain, even after all the years. Trudging through the snow, he finally found the house he'd been loved and had lived in for seven years. Ali walked up the twelve stone steps, reaching the mahogany door. He sighed, wondering if he was prepared to see what happened to his family. After a couple minutes of debating with himself, he knocked on the door twice.

When the door opened, he saw his mother. Same curly dark brown hair, same t-shirt and jeans, but small wrinkles placed themselves on her face. She looked younger than fourty, but time and stress of caring for four other children while trying to find the fifth one had opened its vengance on her once youthful face. "Can I help you?" Came a cheerful but less youthful voice from his mother. He was hurt that she didn't recognize him, until he realized he'd been looking down at the porch. He looked up, his blue eyes setting off something in his mother.

"Alistar?" She asked, not waiting for a reply to hug him. "My baby's home!"

Full Name: Stacie Ann Tyler
Age: 17
Picture:
History: The first eight years of her life was mostly spent at the Vegas house, hanging out with Ali. Stace always wanted to be over there, to hang out with her best friend. Once he ran away, she was always coming over to check on progress, comfort the family, and try to get over the grief. She started to hang out with some other guys, and eventually she started to believe he would never come home. She started to babysit Ali's little sister, who was born four years after the boy left. When she came over to babysit, she didn't expect her best friend to come back home.
Other: My favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Stace groaned, falling out of bed. Her twin brother, currently pulling on a t-shirt, chuckled as Stace threw her slipper at him. She pulled on some clothes, walking downstairs to grab a muffin and head over to her babysitting job. It was only ten o' clock, but Mrs. Vegas would be leaving soon for her pottery classes. She felt the snow crunch under her feet, and breathed in the cool air of New Airfield. Her house was close enough to where she could walk to the Vegas house, but the walk was always full of memories of Ali. Where is he? What's he like now? Does he still remember me?

Once she got to the house, she couldn't believe her eyes. "Ali!" She yelled, running up the stairs. He still had his perfect blue eyes, but his curly brown locks were now straight and parted to the left. Stace instantly grabbed for the giraffe necklace around her neck, the pink giraffe she'd gotten from Ali nine years ago. Stace had given him a blue giraffe, since it was their favorite animal. She also noticed he traded polos and shorts for graphic t-shirts and skinny jeans. He also had their friendship bracelet on, which was now a perfect size for his skinny wrist. Stace wore hers on her ankle, where it fit. Stace wrapped him in a tight hug, breathing in his vanilla cologne.

"Stace?" He asked, suprised by her hug. The older girl had changed when he left, the old Stace was gone. Her girly blonde hair, usually in two pigtails, had been died to a grayish-purple color, with a few red strands at the bottom. Stace had traded dresses or skirts for skinny jeans and shirts like him. He noticed she still had the necklace and the friendship bracelet, which he also had on still. "Well, both of you come in. I was just about to leave." Mrs. Vegas interrupted, pushing the two of the teenagers inside and got into her car parked outside. Ali moved inside after Stace, closing the door and taking off his jacket.

He wore his favorite t-shirt, a Panic! At the Disco t-shirt, and had a dinosaur belt around his white skinny jeans. He pulled off his converse outside the door, considering it was one of his mother's rules he always remembered. The memory of the house, the house he'd lived in for seven years, almost brought tears to his eyes. He saw the Great Dane Delilah, in his time at the house a small puppy, now a full grown female, streak for him and tackle him to the floor. "'Lilah!" He yelled, letting the dog lick his face.

"Memories."

Stace chuckled, letting her grey Beatles quarter-sleeve shirt fall loosely off her left shoulder. "STACIE!" A young girl's voice yelled, running down the stairs and into the older girl's arms. It was Alexandria, Ali's younger sister. Her chocolate curls looked exactly like Ali's did when he was younger, which his younger brother Jason inherited. The other siblings came down, one by one waking up from their younger sister. There was the oldest, Ricky, who was twenty-one and about to get his Master's Degree in Marine Biology. He was followed by the twins, Hannah and Annah, who were eighteen and both studying for teaching degrees. FInally, Jason was behind them.

"Ali?" The older siblings chorused, noticing their brother was back home. Ricky was the first to react, wrapping his younger brother in a hug. Hannah and Annah following suit, only Jason staying behind. "Have you told him?" Jason asked Stace, referring to the relationship that had kindled once their mother had stopped looking as hard. "What would you do?"

"Right."

Character Skeleton:
Full Name: Sara Clark
Age: (14-19) 15
Picture:

History: Sara moved to New Airfield exactly 2 years ago. She had moved from New York City, a place full of energy. When she first touched down in Colorado, she felt displaced. It was just... quiet. The Clark's had bought a two story suburban house- identical to the rest of the houses on their street. But something was going in the town. Just two houses down the street, a small crowd was gathering. Sara's father, Sean Clark, went out to find out what was going on. He came back looking somber. Sara asked what everything was all about. Were the neighbor's hosting a party? But it was anything but that. It was an anniversary... 7 years ago, a boy had run away from home. Disappeared completely. Every year, people stopped by the house where the boy's family lived to give their condolences. Sara walked by the house to hear, "Don't worry, dear, by this time next year I'm sure he'll be back." He wasn't.

Sara slowly grew used to the small town, although she wanted so badly to go back to the city. Things in New Airfield were so monotonous. It was like living in a box. Nothing interesting happened. There was only one curiosity that lived in the town- the missing boy. Ali Vegas. Sara wondered about him.

Other: Sara's family moved because of Sean Clark's work. He was an important member of a winter sports company. They made skis, snowboards, jackets, snowpants... anything winter-related, really. The company was huge on the east coast. The company wanted to expand to the west coast, and sent Sean Clark out to work at the new base in Denver. New Airfield was a small suburban town about 30 minutes away from Denver, and Sara's mother, Laura, wanted to live in a small town like the one she grew up in. Favorite Cereal: Snap, Crackle, Pop- Rice Krispies

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New Airfield... did it have to be so silent? Sara aimed a half-hearted kick to a street lamp. Her foot connected with a dull thump, the sound swallowed up by the lightly falling snow. Sara sighed and began her walk back home.

Sara often took walks. She didn't fit in with the people here. She wasn't meant to live in a small town. She thought of towering skyscrapers, bustling subways, taxi wheels screeching almost as loud as their drivers. New York City. The memory was displaced in such a town as New Airfield. Sara walked down the middle of the road to avoid shuffling through the foot of snow that was a permanent fixture in Colorado. She didn't worry about cars. There were hardly any during work hours. In fact, there were hardly any people around during work hours.

Which is why Sara stopped dead in her tracks when she saw a hunched figure walking through the snow and up the steps of the Vegas household. Sara squinted. It didn't look like anyone she had seen before. Even with a heavy snow jacket on, she could recognize any civilian in New Airfield; that's how small it was.

Sara stayed frozen in the middle of the street, and watched the person hesitate outside the door. He knocked. Two fast raps on the dark wood door. Mrs. Vegas answered, smiling as she usually did. She said something, but any noise was eaten up by the snow. The person at the door lifted his head. An expression of pure shock and joy crossed Mrs. Vegas face. She suddenly hugged the stranger tightly and pulled him in the house. Sara could hear one sentence faintly from across the street.

"My baby's home!"

"Jason, RIcky, Hannah, Annah!" Ali yelled in suprise, practically tackled by his siblings. He looked out the window, and a girl was outside her house. Ali remembered everyone in the small town, but she wasn't registering in his head. "Who's that?" Ali asked, his siblings turning to check what Ali was talking about. "Oh, they moved here two years ago. That's the Clarks, and she's Sarah." Ricky answered, watching his brother incase he was going to run again. "Why did you come back, Ali?" Jason asked, bringing his brother out onto the porch of the two-story house.

"My boyfriend Ollie... died in a car crash." He answered, wiping a tear from his eye as his bit on his lip, where double snake bites sat. While he was away, he persuaded his foster parents to let him get a nose ring, along with double snake bites. "Oh, Ali I'm so sorry." Jason replied, pulling his older brother into his embrace. "That's why I'm back, I want to be with family and friends." Ali replied, sniffling a little.

"Call the mayor, I'm home."

Stace heard every word, evesdropping with the twins. She felt so bad about what happened to Ali, and the adult walking through the snow didn't look like anyone from here. She walked out the house, watching Ali and the adult talk. "Ali, who's this?" Stace asked, standing behind him. "I'm Ali's foster agent." Tne words stung her heart like a knife ran through it. What did Ali do while he was away? The adult looked at her sympathetically, turning back to Ali.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is Ali's home. These are his birth parents he ran away from nine years ago. You can't just take him away from his natural birth right." Stace interrupted, holding Ali's hand in a tight grip. Stace wasn't going to let anyone take her Ali She wasn't going to let him run away, he was here to stay.

"Oh, but I'm afraid I can. Ali, your adoptive parents want you back. They have legal custody of you."

Full Name: Isabella Renee Wood
Age: 15
Picture:
History: Nothing much at all. She has gone to school with the same kids her whole life. Until two years ago. A new girl came in. This only happenes once in a blue moon so she was happy to make a new friend. Little did she know she would fall head over heels for this girl. She got close to her and became her friend. Everyone in the town knew she was bi and people told her. She hoped it wouldn't scare her away. It didn't and know they are connected almost at the hip.
Other: Is bisexual, has a huge crush on Sara Clark, wears boy clothes, and she loves Froot Loops (Hmmmm I wonder where you got this idea. lol)


Are you okay with our characters being close Leopard?

Could it have been? Was that... him? The runaway?

"Alistar Vegas." Sara said the name aloud. The boy seemed like a ghost. Like, up until now, she only half-thought he existed. Strange... who leaves home and then comes back after nine years? If you could escape this box of a town, why would you try and return? It all was very complicated, and Sara could not fathom Ali's thought process.

"I'm sure he has his own reasons..." Sara muttered. "And I really ought to stop talking to myself," she added on as an afterthought. She looked over to the Vegas house once again. The family was probably celebrating the return of their lost son.

The crunching of tires on the icy road made Sara turn. A nondescript black car was rolling down the street, looking for the world like a shadow against the snow. Sara frowned. She wasn't surprised when the car slowed to a stop outside the Vegas's.

"It's just one of those days, isn't it?" Sara sighed. A woman stepped gingerly out of the ominous vehicle, and walked toward the front door of the house. She was dressed in a gray trench coat, black slacks, and, from the looks of them, leather boots. Her face was all sharp angles, and she had that thin-lipped mouth that suggested smiling was out of the question.

"I bet she's from the government or something," Toby said, sitting down next to Sara on the steps. Toby was Sara's older brother. He was 17, a junior in high school.

"You think?" Sara replied, looking at her brother. He ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair, his green eyes glinting.

"Hell, what else could she be? No one dresses like that around here. Plus, she has that face doesn't she?" Toby mused, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. Sara made a face.

"You really ought to shave. You look positively homeless."

"I resent that," he replied. But he got up anyway. "Fine, I'll shave. Might as well get dressed too. I'm not sure when I last changed my shirt..." Sara snorted in disbelief. Toby was always in a state of disarray.

"Hey, you might as well do something useful. Head over next store and see what's going on. That government-chick doesn't look like good news," Toby said.

"Seriously? I should just barge into their house?" Sara asked, doubtful. Now it was Toby's turn to snort.

"Sara, we live in the smallest town in the country. You could walk into someone's house, make a sandwich, eat it in front of them, and they would just give you a friendly hello and maybe a cookie for the road." With that, Toby disappeared inside the house. Sara shrugged and decided to take his advice.

She began walking over to the Vegas house. The front door was open, the strange lady standing on the doorstep. She saw a girl standing on the walkway, just behind the woman. Sara was able to identify her- Stacie Ann Tyler. She was in Toby's class.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but this is Ali's home. These are his birth parents he ran away from nine years ago. You can't just take him away from his natural birthright." Stacie sounded angry. Her hand was clasped stubbornly around a boy's. It was Ali. Sara finally got a good look at him. Straight brown hair that varied in shades, big gray-blue eyes... It was odd seeing this boy in person.

"Oh, but I'm afraid I can. Ali, your adoptive parents want you back. They have legal custody of you," the woman said, her voice freezing. Sara was still standing off to the side, so far unnoticed. But she cleared her throat tentatively.

"Well, I don't believe that's quite true. Ali ran away from home, but that doesn't change the fact that his parents had legal custody over him. They did not legally give him up. So, really, the adoption made by Ali's new foster parents cannot be valid, since Ali's true parents did not die or officially hand over custody..." Sara trailed off, uncertain. Really it wasn't her place to say anything. But what the government woman was doing didn't seem fair- or legal for that matter. Sara's eyes locked eyes with the foster agent, suddenly brave.

"I'm certain that this case would never hold up in court." Sara crossed her arms over her chest, one eyebrow raised.

[EDIT] - Izzy, I'm not so sure if Sara being close friends with your character might work so well. Sara's supposed to be an awkward loner- a shy, daydreamer sort of person. Although, I like the idea of Isabella having a crush on Sara. That will be interesting. PM me if you have any ideas where you want that to go. I would totally go along with them being friends, but I've already wrote Sara as... out-of-place. She blends into the background, and even though she's been in New Airfield for two years, she has no friends. She doesn't care too much about her social standing though. She's independent.

[EDIT 2] I just wanted to add a quick character skeleton for Toby... I might have him hang around more, if that's okay.

Full Name: Tobias Steven Clark
Age: (14-19) 17
Picture:
History: Moved two years back- Sara's brother.
Other: Really chill guy, loves sleep, video games, and most sports. Favorite Cereal: Lucky Charms (he loves the marshmallows).

"Oh? I'm not sure who any of you are, other than Alistar, but I have no opinion in his case. The Fords are concerned, and they will go to court. Alistar, you have a family that loves you waiting." The foster agent, Mrs. Kennedy St. Stevens, countered as she pulled her jacket closer to her shivering body.

Talking to Jason really got to him, and he stood there unresponsive with his head down at his feet.

"Excuse me, is there a problem here?" It was Ali's father, Thomas Alexander Vegas, who'd just come back from a morning run. "Your son Ali-" "Ali's missing, incase you didn't know." Tom growled, his son looking up with tearing blue eyes. "Alistar..." Tom trailed off, hugging his boy tight.

"His old foster parents-" "Listen, Ali came back and no one's going to take him away from us. We spend nine damn years trying to find him, and since he's returned we're not letting him go." Tom snapped, the woman sighing.

"Fine. Expect a call from the Fords' lawyer." Mrs. Stevens replied, going back into the sleek black car and driving away. "Ali, you're home." Tom breathed, holding his son tight. Tom felt Ali's tears on the shoulder of his jacket, and he knew something had happened that made his son this way. Something that happened in the nine years he'd been away.

"Listen Ali, what we're going to do might feel like a punishment, but we don't want you running away. Make sure someone is either always with you or knows where you are. Your windows and doors will be locked at night." Tom explained, bringing his son inside. "Come on kids, it's cold outside." Tom invited them in, chuckling.

"Ali?" Tom asked, watching his son take off his jacket and look up to him with innocent eyes.

"Why'd you run away, all those years ago?" Tom asked, his son's eyes brimming with tears. Why did everyone think he ran away? Did they think of reasons?

"That day I will never forget," Ali started, sitting on the couch, "there had been a shooting at the school in the highschool section, and I had been wandering the school. I was slammed into a wall, and the boy with the gun told me to get out of town or he'd find me. He didn't want any live witness. I didn't want to leave, but he would kill me. I told him I would, and he followed me to the edge of town."

"Then why'd you come back?" Ricky asked, more of a blurted statement. "That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Ali asked, chuckling softly.

"My boyfriend was killed in a car accident."

Izzy was walking over to Toby's house to play some Call of Duty Nazi Zombies. She saw a bunch of people at the Vagas house. She figured they were just see if he was home at all. Isabella saw Sara over there and her heart skipped a beat. She blushed and almost walked over there. Giving herself a mental slap she walked to the house. Without knocking she walled in the door and sat on the couch. She turned the game on and went to the fridge to get an orange soda. Sh opened it and walked ip to Toby's room. She opened the door and found him shirtless. "Hey nice abs. Anyway I'll be downstairs waiting to play COD. Is it just gunna be us or are the rest of the guys gunna play?" she asked leaning in the doorway.

((My posts are going to be small-ish I'm posting from an iPod that is really slow on the site.))

Toby turned around to see Izzy in his bedroom doorway. By this point, it had become an almost normal occurrence.

"I think it might just be us. Ryan said he might stop by, but his relatives are in town." Toby shrugged and pulled on a loose gray shirt, with "Williams College" written across the front. The print had long since faded, and the letters were cracked.

"Yo, just give me a sec. Evidently I need to shave..." He reached up and felt the scratchy stubble on his chin. "I'll meet you downstairs." Toby pushed by Izzy to get to the hall bathroom.

* * * * * * *

Sara felt somewhat weird. She had entered the Vegas's awkwardly, sticking close to the wall. She knew all the people that lived there- Ali's siblings and parents. But she had never really talked to them directly. But she was more concerned with Ali than her social anonymity. He looked... well, damaged. Harrowed. There was even a level of shocking emptiness in those eyes. Sara shivered involuntarily.

Mr. Vegas then asked the question they all were thinking, but didn't have the courage to ask: "Why'd you run away, all those years ago?"

Ali tensed, as if he had been slapped. He sat on the couch and began his explanation. "That day I will never forget. There had been a shooting at the school in the highschool section, and I had been wandering the school. I was slammed into a wall, and the boy with the gun told me to get out of town or he'd find me. He didn't want any live witness. I didn't want to leave, but he would kill me. I told him I would, and he followed me to the edge of town."

Sara's heart broke for the boy in front of her. At the same time, she felt an undeniable rage. Ali was just a victim. Something about him triggered a strange emotion in Sara. She felt this urge to protect him- he was just so... vulnerable.

"Then why'd you come back?" One of Ali's brothers, Ricky, asked the question suddenly. "That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" Ali replied softly, a dark, humorless chuckle escaping him.

"My boyfriend was killed in a car accident."

The sentence was short, factual, and tired. Sara inhaled sharply. It was as if sorrow and tragedy followed this kid around like a shadow. She felt like she should say something- anything to assuage the gloom that hung over the living room.

"Hey, Ali, listen. You don't know me, but I just wanna say we're here for you, ya know..." She offered up a weak smile.

"Ah but I like your little stubble," she called up to him. She turned on the single player and waited forr Toby to come down. After a little she saw Toby come downstairs (Hope you don't mind I sorta Godmodded a little bit) "So just two player Nazi Zombies? Lets see how long we can last then," Izzy told him giggling. She finished her soad and jumped up to get another. She got a root beer and a box of lucky charms. She threw the box at him . "Lets play," Isabella grinned.

*Knocks* Anyone here?