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The Lost & Found

New York, NY

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a part of The Lost & Found, by Collapse.

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Collapse holds sovereignty over New York, NY, giving them the ability to make limited changes.

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Setting

Default Location for The Lost & Found
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Minimap

New York, NY is a part of The Lost & Found.

9 Characters Here

Brooklyn Belle [128] The Bitch
Roman Killens [128] The Intellect
Holly Bennett [124] The Naive One
Nick Cuarto [111] The Leader
Hailey Bennett [104] The Mother
Robbie Amello [75] The Addict
Braden Gable [73] The Bad Boy
Cara Forrester [39] The Peacekeeper

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Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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#, as written by Writer
Holly was still in a bit of a daze as she followed Cara through the streets and finally down a flight of stairs to a subway stop. She would occasionally take the subway with Hailey when they needed to deliver something of Nick's to the other side of the city and felt like it was too great a distance to walk. With the past winter being especially brutal, they had spent even more time using it, so Holly was familiar enough with how it worked. There were times during the day when the cars were so crowded that people were pressed against each other and it always overwhelmed Holly, but not always in a bad way. She loved looking at all of the different people, although some of them were fairly strange, but there were frequently people who didn't appreciate her seemingly intrusive but genuinely only curious questions. Hailey would warn her to keep to herself, especially when they were carrying large amounts of drugs and didn't want any unnecessary attention, but with Holly being Holly, she always found it hard to not talk to people who seemed interesting.

Now that it was nighttime, there were only a handful of other people in the car that Cara led her into, so Holly had little to entertain herself with. "Where's your dad's house? Is he nice?" she questioned. If Cara had spoken about her home life, which she probably had, Holly hadn't been paying attention. Holly and Hailey had never met their own father but their mother made a point to trash talk the unknown man whenever she had the opportunity to. Besides her absentee father, the two other major boyfriends that her mother had both used her and Holly to deliver illegal drugs to people, and one sexually abused her multiple times. Between all of that, the whole "father figure" role had never been properly filled in her life, so she wasn't sure what to expect of Cara's dad.

Feeling a sudden but small burst of energy, Holly stood from the bench she and Cara had been sitting on and clutched the metal pole a few feet away. It was there for the passengers who couldn't find a seat when the car was overcrowded, but since there was nearly no one sharing the car with them now, Holly took the liberty to grip it with one hand and spin around a few times. "I could be like, Brooklyn's twin, right?" she asked with a giggle. It was amusing for a few minutes, but she had enough sense to stop when she began to feel dizzy. "Will your dad have lemonade at his house because I'm dying of thirst," she claimed dramatically, returning to her seat next to Cara.

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hailey Bennett Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Braden Gable Character Portrait: Cara Forrester Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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Robbie fell back onto his mattress with Cara's jab. He wasn't planning on going to sleep bit for once the worn mattress actually felt comfortable, flat spots and all. Braden mentioned some wallets in a bag that he wanted Robbie to take to Dave to see if they were worth a quick buck. His eyes were shut and he didn't feel like actually talking so he stretched his arm up and gave him a quick thumbs up. It wasn't the most reliable way to respond to someone but It gets the job done with minimal effort.

There was a shift on the mattress and opening one eye he seen Cara head off to her spot. He stretched out and put his arms behind his head and just vegged out. Aside from the shuffling of Cara everything was nice and quiet. Right up until Cara started up about some random crap. Robbie sat up actually paying attention to her. She was rambling about how she needed to go see a friend and how she wanted him to watch Holly but before he could really reply to her she had already decided to take Holly with her. He didn't blame her for not trusting him to watch Holly. He wouldn't trust himself either, he's never been good with kids and in Holly's case she was most definitely a child. The only thing that he had going for him was his patience.

He nodded to everything she said and made a mental note to tell Hailey that Cara took Holly and with a simple wave the door shut. He passed a hand through his hair and got up. He grabbed the bag of wallets Braden was talking about and headed up to the roof, he found that it was much easier to concentrate while up there. He sat on his usual lawn chair and popped a smoke in his mouth. One by one he examined each of the wallets, most of them had scuff marks which could easily be buffed out but some had years and rips as well which would hardly get a buck. However there were several pristine ones that didn't need any work and a couple quality wallets. They had brand names that at the very least fetch a hundred dollars. He puffed on the cigarette and threw all the wallets back into the bag and headed downstairs.

Grabbing his backpack he placed the bag of wallets inside, there was no way he was about to walk down the street with a bag of stolen wallets and hope no one notices. He slung it over his shoulder and in a quick ten minutes was at the pawn shop.

"Yo Dave, Got some stuff for you."

"What?" He yelled from the back room.

"Here." He said placing his bag on the counter as Dave came into the store room cleaning off his hands."Wallets."

"Yeah? They good quality? Where'd ya get um?"

"A friend. I already looked them over. Some need a little buffing out but most a good. There's also some brand names in there." Robbie leaned up against the counter. "How much?"

Dave didn't answer the question or comment about the origin. There was no one in the store but that was never a strange site. Despite the look of the place he had money. He was just wise around who to share that information with. He nodded as he looked through the wallets and made three separate piles on the counter. Robbie had seen this a hundred times before, the farthest pile away was the ones he didn't want, the middle was the ones that he could sell and the right were the best. Looking over the piles Robbie knew which ones were going where so I didn't surprise him at all.

"Alright." He mulled something over I'm his head "Three hundred and fifty. Plus an extra fifty if you buff these up." He pointed to the middle pile. "Just like old times." He added with a smirk.

"Old times?" Back when he had just met Dave he had made him learn to shine shoes. Old ones, new ones any pair that walked through the door or were on the shelves for longer then three days. After a couple months of it he started him on everything else made fr leather. Purses, wallets, luggage. Anything that just needed some elbow grease to look good as new. "Why the hell not." It had been awhile but Robbie hadn't lost any of that skill, plus it was an extra fifty.

He worked lightning fast finishing the last wallet in what seemed like a half hour. Dave had gone off somewhere while he worked in the back room which was full of random trinkets and oddities. Robbie remembered back when he was here he would just keep grabbing random things just because he had never seen anything like them before. Most of it was junk but it was pretty junk. Pretty junk that could make a buck. He made it up the back stairs and knocked the door with an immediate answer from Dave.

"It's open. The cash is on the table."

"Thanks." He pocketed the cash knowing that Dave would never jip him and quickly washed his hands before leaving.

Back at the warehouse he split the cash fifty fifty and placed Braden's share in an empty pill bottle. He certainly had a couple left over from the years of couch hopping. He placed it on Braden's mattress and with a sharpie drew a cash sign on the cap. There was no one back yet so he still had the place to himself. He placed his share of the cash in his bag and threw the backpack to the side of his mattress. Picking up a tennis ball he had in the process. He walked to the roof of the warehouse and proceeded to bounce it off the stairwell wall and catch it. He needed to pass the time and figured this would at least get him tired enough to go to sleep.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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The subway car they chose was scarcely populated so Cara didn't worry much when Holly got up and began to twirl around the pole in the middle of the car. The comment about her looking like Brooklyn got a laugh out of her, even in the nervous state she was in. The witty comments that Holly came up with always surprised Cara and they seemed even funnier coming from her. Even if she didn't listen or absorb more than half of what was said to her, she didn't get enough credit for how clever she was.

Holly soon sat down and Cara focused her thoughts back on her own situation. She couldn't believe that she was returning home on such short notice, but the nerves overtook the excitement. Even though she would be able to experience a warm bed that wasn't being paid for by some pervert, a surplus of free food, and the simple amenities of home that she had taken advantage of years ago, she knew that it was only going to be for one night. She and her father had differences that were irreconcilable, with the main one being his lovely wife. If that bitch hadn't fucked him, I'd be at a nice college- maybe UCLA or Pepperdine or something on the west coast, and I'd have a hot boyfriend. The thought of Emma made her clench her teeth but Cara quickly remembered that this wasn't about Emma or even her father. It was about her grandmother who had always been good to her and it was only right for Cara to be there for her now.

"Yeah, we'll get you something to drink when we get there," Cara said to Holly a moment late. Being so deep in thought and nerves, she hadn't even processed the girl's words until she felt Holly look over at her. She offered her a smile which faded as soon as Holly looked away.

The thought of having to explain who Holly was didn't even cross her mind until they had gotten off the subway and were making their way up to the street. The 68th street station was only a block away from her father's 69th St. townhouse and although her legs were tired from a long day of walking with Holly, she was beginning to wish that it was farther away. Even more so, she was wishing that she had never called him back. That she had seen his missed calls and texts and deleted them. She was here though, and there was no turning back.

"Holly, my dad doesn't know that I've been living at the warehouse so let's not mention that, okay? We'll pretend that you're Nick's little sister and I'm living with you guys in an apartment, alright? It'll be like a fun little game," she said, her voice bordering pleading. She wanted this visit to be as painless as possible and the last thing she needed was for Holly to tell her father that she was living in an abandoned warehouse with seven messed up kids and prostituting herself.

She pushed her purse farther up on her shoulder and clutched Holly's hand with one of hers while using the other to buzz the intercom box outside of the townhouse. Although it was surreal to be standing in front of that door again, she tried not to get too sentimental about it because she knew that this was just going to be a quick trip. She didn't want to feel like she was returning home because this wasn't home anymore.

Her father must have been waiting for her because it took less than a minute for the door to swing open. It was nearing eleven at night now, so the hired help was gone, but not having a housekeeper greet her wasn't the part that surprised her. Although it was less than a year since she had seen her father, he looked different. Possibly a bit older and grayer, but his aura was different too. Before she could analyze it too much, he leaned in for a very awkward hug. It was quick, probably due to Cara pulling away, but she guessed that it was a nice sign. At least he was making an effort.

"Caraline, it's so nice to see you. I- I've missed you."

"Yeah..." Her father was never affectionate and even though his words were kind, she didn't take them to heart very much. She couldn't after he abandoned his only child for that witch. Remembering Holly next to her, Cara pulled her a bit closer. "This is Holly, she's my roommate's little sister." She figured that Holly could pass for fifteen or sixteen so it probably was reasonable enough that Cara wouldn't want to leave her alone and decided to bring her.

Her father wasn't in a position to criticize anyway, so he offered his hand to Holly. "It's nice to meet you, Holly."

There was an awkward pause before Peter seemed to realize that he needed to initiate the conversation if there was going to be any. "Emma's in Boston this weekend with some of her girlfriends and the cook went home or else I'd offer you girls something hot to eat, but I'm sure there's something in the kitchen we can whip up if you're hungry. You know I've never been much of a cook," he said, adding in a halfhearted laugh.

She looked over at Holly, remembering her desire for a drink earlier and nodded. "Yeah, um, we'll go get something," she replied plainly. When her father nodded and began to lead them towards the kitchen, she spoke again. "I can just meet you in your office once we get settled in," she said, hoping that it would be enough for him to get the message that she wanted him to go away. It wasn't that he was being his normal self because she really did appreciate that he was trying, but part of her didn't want to like him or have to give him any credit for making an effort. She wanted to hate him enough that she wouldn't want to come back home permanently and admit that he was right, that she couldn't make it on her own.

He got the message and left after offering one more smile. When they were alone, Cara tried to return to her normal pleasant self. She didn't want to alarm Holly or allow her to feel like this was anything out of the ordinary. "So... lemonade, right? Do you want anything to eat? I don't know what we have, but you can check the pantry," Cara said as she swung the refrigerator doors open and examined its contents.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto
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Roman's response to her denying his request for money made her heart hurt. He was clearly in a time of need and there she was, kicking him to the curb when he needed her the most. What choice did she have though? She could lend him the money but would then risk never getting it back and having Nick find out. Brooklyn wasn't the type of girl who felt like she needed permission from anyone to do anything, but this was different. Nick had just taken a punch for her, quite literally, and she didn't think it would be right to turn around a give the person who hurt him money. She didn't care about what he had said about her, that wasn't what was keeping her from helping. She just didn't want to get involved at all. Nick was her boyfriend and she would obviously take his side without a second thought but Roman was her best friend and the next person in line who she trusted the most. It was a difficult situation and one of the few that actually made Brooklyn emotional.

She watched him disappear around a corner but couldn't move from where she now stood. There was a part of her that wanted to chase after him and just give him the money. She could tell Nick that she ended up going out with her girlfriends instead of work, and then pick up an extra shift the next week to make up for it. If Roman and Nick were still on bad terms, he would never have a way of finding out. However, she didn't follow him. She had made a decision and couldn't change her mind now. She just hoped that she was doing the right thing.

A few minutes after crossing the street and beginning her route back to the warehouse, Brooklyn realized that she was crying. It wasn't a sobbing, messy cry, but a mute one where her even though she wanted it to stop, her eyes refused. It had been a while since she had actually broken down but after seeing Roman, a boy she had spent years with, punch Nick in the face and then hours later, come to her with a battered body of his own, she couldn't keep herself composed.

This life is so fucked up. This world is so fucked up and I'm not supposed to be here. This can't be my fucking life anymore. I can't do it. Roman was right, there's no way these kids are going to get off of the streets but I can't bare to watch them die out here either.

She sat with her back to the alley wall and allowed her face to fall into her hands. After a few minutes, she managed to dry her wet face with the sleeve of her hoodie and stand up. She didn't want to disturb the others who were probably sleeping, mostly because she didn't want any questions. She just wanted to go to sleep and a few minutes later, she joined Nick on their mattress and did just that.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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#, as written by Writer
When the subway screeched to a stop, Holly followed Cara off. On a normal day, she would have burst out the doors at one hundred miles an hour with her mind racing at a similar speed, but tonight she barely kept up pace with Cara. She appreciated the change from the heavy, hot subway air to the lighter and cooler temperature on the street. Even though there was less than a month until summer, the nighttime air still felt as similar to spring as it had a month ago.

Holly wasn't good with directions to begin with, but this area of town was even less familiar to her than most. She and Hailey rarely made deliveries to the Upper East Side and besides that, they didn't have many other reasons to be in the area. It was the most exclusive area of New York and even just the outside of the buildings hinted at the wealth that was hidden behind those doors.

She remained quiet for most of the walk, mainly focused on examining the detailed homes they passed. Although she was unaware of it, most of the large buildings they were passing were actually townhouses rather than multiple apartments. It was something she would soon realize because after only a few minutes of walking, Cara abruptly stopped in front of one of the doors. She turned to her and explained that her dad didn't know about her current living situation, but suggested playing a game of pretend so her father wouldn't find out. Holly wasn't sure what the big deal was about him knowing that she lived in the warehouse but the idea sounded entertaining enough, so she nodded and didn't question the subject any further.

"Is Hail-" Holly had begun to ask Cara if her sister was going to meet them here tonight when the door opened up, revealing a middle aged man. She stopped mid-sentence and watched intently as he greeted Cara, strangely as "Caraline", hugged her, and then extended a hand for Holly to shake. She stared at his hand for a moment before allowing him to shake hers, but remained quiet as he verbally greeted her. He seemed nice but Holly was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Her exhaustion was probably contributing to it, but she also wished Hailey was here with her.

Fortunately, as they entered the home, Cara shooed her father upstairs and they entered the kitchen alone. In the foyer, she had put most of her attention into the stranger but now that he was gone, she realized that Cara's home was unlike one she had ever been in before. Not only did it appear to be huge, but exquisitely decorated as well. The floors sparkled, there were fancy paintings and decorations scattered on walls and shelves, and everything just looked so delicate. It was a huge contrast from her own childhood home which was nothing more than a rundown two bedroom apartment in a Bronx housing project, and even more of a difference than the makeshift home they had formed in the warehouse. This home looked like more of a palace, something she would see in a Disney movie, than the home of anyone who she could ever know.

"Yes, lemonade," Holly confirmed, perking up at the reminder of her earlier request. She watched in awe as Cara filled a glass with ice that appeared to be coming right out of the front of the fridge. It was a luxury that Holly had obviously never experienced, but when Cara invited her to search the pantry for herself, she quickly redirected her attention to that. Like everything else she had seen in the past five minutes, the amount and array of foods amazed her. With so many choices, Holly was conflicted with what to choose. She hovered in front of the shelves for a good two minutes before grabbing a package of Oreo's, pretzels and a box of Fruit Loops. There was too much for her to just choose one thing and she had learned as a child that if there was good food in the house, it was important to eat as much of it as possible before someone else finished it off. It probably wasn't something that she had to worry about with just Cara and her dad there, but Holly didn't consider that.

"Are you gonna talk to your dad?" she asked, unsure if she was supposed to start eating now or if Cara wanted her to go upstairs first. She attempted to take the glass of lemonade from Cara but with her arms filled with snacks, it proved to be too difficult. "Why do you live with us if this is your real house?" she then asked, returning her eyes to the luxurious home she was in.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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Cara was glad that there was a pitcher of lemonade in the refrigerator because she was too stressed out to deal with Holly being upset over her one request not being filled. She wouldn't have blamed her, really, and she was beginning to feel bad for dragging Holly all the way here. However, as she set the filled glass on the counter, she was relieved to see that Holly had accepted her offer of food and was raiding the pantry. Cara was really unsure of what would have been in there. At least when she was living at home, there was a personal chef who would cook dinner and breakfast for the family, so they rarely did any cooking on their own. Cara wasn't a big junk food person but her father always had been and by the looks of Holly's selections, that hadn't changed about him.

"Yeah, I'm going to talk to him in a few minutes," she answered when Holly asked if she was going to speak with her father. She was in no rush to do so, that was for sure. "You can bring that stuff upstairs but don't eat to much, Holls. I don't need you to wake up sick like your sister has been," she warned, grabbing the glass off the table and leading Holly out of the kitchen.

Walking through the halls was so strange. Ten years ago, she was running through the very same halls, chasing her friends with a nanny right behind them, shouting about how they were going to break something. She still knew her way around the large townhouse but it didn't feel like home anymore. Cara wondered if something in it had changed or if it was just her who was different.

When they reached the third floor, she led Holly into the second bedroom in the left hallway. It was the first time she was returning to her bedroom but again, she tried not to act like it was a big deal. She didn't want to emotionally invest herself in the idea of moving back home because she knew it wasn't going to happen, at least not now. However, she couldn't help but to smile when she saw that everything was the same as how she had left it. The walls were the same off white shade they had been since she was six, her comforter the same teal color and as she set Holly's glass of lemonade on her nightstand and pulled the drawer open, she found that all of her little useless trinkets hadn't been touched either. It was a nice feeling, especially since Cara had convinced herself that the moment she left, her father and Emma would have rejoiced at the opportunity to turn her bedroom into another guest bedroom or something.

"Is it okay if you sleep here tonight? The bathroom's right there," she said, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the room, "and after I talk to my dad, I'll be right next door in one of the guest rooms if you need me."

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto
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After his attempts at getting drunk failed due to a lack of money and then spotting Killens, Nick took it as a sign that he should just give up, so he returned to the warehouse. He arrived a few minutes after Robbie had left to go to the pawn shop, so he was alone, which was probably for the best. Although most of his anger had subsided, he still wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He didn't want to explain to Holly why his lip was swollen or hear Cara talk about how he and Roman could just work out their differences. The only person that he wanted to see was Brooklyn, but she was at work and Nick knew that she wouldn't be back for hours.

Although he had earlier decided that he would prefer to drink than smoke, drinking was no longer an option. No one was there to complain about the smell of the weed so he could have remained on his bed and smoked, but it had become a habit of his to go to the roof when he needed to smoke. He had forced Braden to do it multiple times in response to Brooklyn's complaints about how horrible the warehouse smelled, so he felt hypocritical to do it himself, even if no one was there to see it.

He had received a new supply earlier that day and had set aside a small bag of the strongest weed he had for himself. Nick hadn't intended on smoking it this soon but he doubted that any day in the near future could prove to be as stressful as this evening had been, so he didn't waste a minute in rolling it into a joint. He didn't want to think about Killens and the weed pretty much forced him to clear his mind. In fact, only a few minutes after he had burned the last bits of it, he was feeling restful enough to return downstairs and fall asleep.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Braden Gable Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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#, as written by Thunder
Braden felt like the evening was pretty laid back, but that might have partially been a response to him being high. He and Hailey got food and hung out casually and as three in the morning approached, he left her to meet his friend. He had found a Metro Card in one of the wallets he stole a few weeks back and it still had a few trips left on it, so rather than walking, he utilized the subway system to get to the club.

His friend Max was waiting outside of the station and met Braden with a grin. Braden had known Max for a few years. He was a few years older than him but also made a living by robbing people. When Braden first made that his line of work, he had nearly gotten into a fist fight with Max for "invading his territory", but after explaining that he was new to the streets, Max had showed him the ropes of robbing. Granted, he still made a point that if Braden ever tried to take money from people on the streets he claimed as his, he would beat him to a pulp, but there were times like this where he helped Braden out. A few days back, he had tipped Braden off to a strip club in the lower area of midtown that he was working with. The bouncer turned a blind eye to the muggings, for a small percent of the stolen money, and Max had been scoring big there.

"You sure we're not gonna get caught?" Braden asked as Max led him to the site. They walked past the club and down the bordering side street. There was a side door but they continued past it and stopped in the shadows of an alleyway. Anyone who needed to get to the main street would have to pass them, which would make for easy targets of the girls who were leaving the club.

"Dude, we've got this. Just chill. Look, here comes one now," Max said, pulling his head back into the alleyway.

Braden managed to peak his head out as well but did a double take when he saw who it was that was approaching them. He wasn't sure at first, but when he looked out again to check, he realized that it was Brooklyn. Max seemed to recognize her as well because he stepped backwards and pulled Braden back as well.

"Yo, there's no fucking way we're going for her, dude. I was talking to Jimmy and he knows her from the club and he said that girl fucking killed both of her parents with her bare hands and left before she got caught." Braden remained quiet but Max continued to speak. "I didn't believe it at first but once you get a good look at her... I don't know. I can see her doing it. She's got that 'don't fuck with me' look, ya know? All the hot girls are fucking crazy, I'm telling you."

Once Brooklyn turned onto the main road and disappeared out of sight, Braden shook his head. "I've got to go, man. We good for this spot tomorrow?" When Max confirmed, Braden quickly left and returned back to the warehouse.

At first, the rumor that Max had spread seemed impossible. How could Brooklyn kill her own parents and manage to escape to New York, and get a job? Once he continued to think about it though, it began to seem more and more likely. Brooklyn was a bitch and Max was right, she did seem like the kind of girl who could snap in an instance and become a psychopath. Even if it wasn't true, he knew that Hailey would get a laugh out of it.

Nick, Brooklyn and Hailey were all asleep when he got back to the warehouse and when he reached his mattress, he found a pill bottle filled with cash waiting for him. He instantly linked it to Robbie, who he had earlier asked to sell some wallets for him. Robbie wasn't anywhere to be found but Braden had a feeling that he would be on the roof and as he headed up there, he found him.

"Thanks for the cash," he said upon approaching him. Robbie was bouncing a tennis ball around so Braden took a seat a few feet away from hit and lit a cigarette. He was tired enough to go to sleep but was still thinking about what Max had said about Brooklyn. "I heard the craziest shit today. My friend said Brooklyn killed her fucking parents and that's why she's out here. At first I was like, 'there's no fucking way', but I don't know. She kind of seems like that type of girl. The psycho bitch type... You think you can ask Roman for me if it's true? Just curious to see what's up, you know... and Roman's the closest one to her besides Nick."

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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#, as written by Writer
Cara's house was too much to take in for Holly. There were long hallways and big rooms filled with furniture that looked like they had never been touched. The house would have amazed most people but for someone like Holly, who had spent her entire life living on the opposite side of the financial spectrum, this was unreal. It was getting to be too much for her to even gawk over, and now with her arms filled with food, she kept her mind focused on that and followed Cara upstairs.

She opened a door to reveal a simple but beautiful bedroom which, judging by some photos on the wall, belonged to Cara. It still baffled Holly how she had this place to stay but chose their dingy warehouse. It didn't make sense, but then again, she didn't really know what Cara's life had been like on the streets. No one really spoke about negative things to Holly, which was probably a good thing. It wasn't that she couldn't understand them, because she knew that someone's parent dying or a home burning down was bad, but she had no filter and could never tell when someone no longer wanted to speak of the subject. The intrusive questions and just the fact that most people saw her as someone who needed things to be sugarcoated were probably the major reasons behind it and it probably was easier for her to just not know. In Holly's case, ignorance was bliss.

Holly pulled off her shoes before sitting on Cara's bed. She set her food down beside her and nodded when Cara explained that there was a bathroom attached to the bedroom and that she would be in the next room if Holly needed anything. "Okay, see you tomorrow," Holly said. She was still tired and although her hyperactive and curious side was begging her to get up and explore Cara's room, she was still sleep deprived and after eating only a few handfuls of cereal, she fell asleep.

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Character Portrait: Braden Gable Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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“Woah, woah, woah.” It was a blur of questions and in Robbie’s current state it was a bit too much to comprehend all at once. He got up from the lawn chair and walked over to Braden “You shouldn’t say shit like that. Brooklyn would claw your face off if she heard you.” He rubbed his eyes and looked around, Must have fell asleep.

“How’s this,” He murmured turning on his heels and giving a stretch as he walked back to his seat as he gestured to another “Come, take a seat. Have a drink.” He fell back into his seat grabbing a beer can from under his chair. “That way, you can tell me where the hell you heard that frickin story. Plus how the hell am I suppose to find Killens? He’s gone.”

Robbie had started waking up with the first few sips from the can but still couldn’t really tell if Braden was pulling his leg or if he was just being curious. Robbie was taking the whole situation with a grain of salt being almost positive this was going to end up being a wild goose chase, not something he would want to get involved in. Especially if he wound up spreading some false information while trying to get to the truth of it all.

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Character Portrait: Braden Gable Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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#, as written by Thunder
Braden realized that he had caught Robbie off guard when he responded. He was probably right that Brooklyn would make him her next victim if she heard him talking about her. He had learned a week ago that it wasn't a good idea when something that he had said in front of Holly about Brooklyn's job got twisted and sparked the big argument between her and Nick, but this was too interesting to just forget. He wanted to believe that it was just some fictitious story that someone had made up. Based on her personality alone, it wasn't hard to imagine that Brooklyn probably had some enemies who would want to create nasty rumors about her, but who the hell made about a rumor like this? He could understand something like she cheated on Nick or beat up another girl or something, but her killing her parents just seemed extreme. Even if it wasn't entirely true, there had to be some truth to it, he supposed.

Upon Robbie's request, he took a seat next to him and cracked open one of Robbie's beers. "My friend Max works the streets by the club she works at. I didn't even know where she worked until I got there tonight and fucking saw her coming out of the building. It's not like I was gonna rob her anyway, but he didn't want to either and he said all this shit about one of the bouncers who works at the club told him that some people Brooklyn used to know told him about her past life. Like... why she ended up here... and it was because she killed her parents or something, and now she goes by Brooklyn but that's not even her real name." He chugged the beer and tossed the empty can a few feet away from them. "And come on, you don't think Killens is gonna actually leave for good, do you? Nick's a good guy and those two are practically brothers and shit. I give it two days before he's back and acting normal. I'd ask him myself but I barely talk to the guy and it'd be too random. You don't have to go on a fucking quest to find him or anything, but if you see him, just ask for me," Braden said.

He considered taking another one of Robbie's beers but actually was tired himself and was ready to go to bed. Besides, judging by the remaining full cans, he doubted that Robbie would be finishing up anytime soon. After hearing Robbie's response, Braden headed back downstairs and to his mattress. Everyone was still asleep so he quietly fell onto his mattress and stared up at the ceiling. He was surprised with himself for caring so much about finding out whether the rumor was true or not, but quickly realized that he wanted to know more for Hailey's sake than his own. If he had some dirt on Brooklyn, he could tell it to Hailey and for once, she'd be the one with the upper hand in one of the girls' frequent arguments.

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Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto
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#, as written by Cure
As predicted, he woke up early. He was able to sneak into one of the stores before many people were out. Although he got a horrified look from the person manning the register, he didn't say anything to Roman. He washed quickly without looking in the mirror. While he was changing, he looked at where the knife had cut him. It wasn't as deep as it had felt last night, which only made him feel pretty weak when he thought back to how much it had actually hurt. Somewhere in his bag he had enough wrap to tie around his waist. Once he finished up, presumably looking less like a zombie and more like a human being, he uttered a thanks to the still silent cashier and left.

The previous night proved restless. The smallest sound stirred him into an anxious frenzy and even being awake didn't prove to settle his nerves any more. The day passed as he did, moving from place to place as that was the safest thing for him. There were a few ways to make money in NYC. The people here, most of them at least, were idiots at best. They could be conned easily if they really weren't expecting it so he sat in Central Park for most of the day, watching people go by. After must observation, he figured out the right people to approach, most of them giggling teenaged girl. He would pretend to be passing until he bumped into them, grabbing their hand and acting as though he recognized them. If they were holding onto something it was better because he could cause them to drop it. As they both stooped down at the same time, the girl typically not realizing he was still holding her wrist, he'd undo her watch and put it in his pocket. Once this became too risky, he played the part of victim, going up to strangers saying he was robbed. Asking for nothing more than train or car fare, it proved effective. After a couple of people, he'd gotten a bit of money, but no where near what he wanted to pay.

This took the bulk of his day as he had to make sure he approached the right people. Knowing better than to pickpocket and go to a pawn shop immediately after, he went to Canal Street to sell his stolen goods. The place for notorious for its knock offs and counterfeit items so it was the perfect place for him to go. The day had begun to settle when he cashed everything in. Somehow he'd managed not to be caught. The thought of skipping time was seeming more enticing as the day went by. He returned to Times and disappeared in the quite, which for once was quite comforting. As he walked down the street, he realized just how hungry he was. The last time he ate was at Finn's the previous evening. Although his stomach churned and twisted at the smell of roasted nuts and greasy hot dogs, he chose to ignore it. Roman made his way to the warehouse one he realized how close he was. It was then that he decided the best thing for him to do would be to leave. At least for a bit. If Nick was there then fine. He'd just get his things and go; there shouldn't be any drama over that.

He returned around three-thirty in the afternoon feeling as though he was trespassing. A sense of relief flooded through him and he realized he'd been holding his breath, but once he saw that Nick wasn't there, he exhaled slowly. His side was left untouched. If anyone else was there, he remained quiet and refused to meet there eye as he knelt next to his former spot of the warehouse and began to look for the rest of his things.

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Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto Character Portrait: Alex Castoff
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#, as written by Sophiex
Today is the day. It was the first thought that crossed Alex's mind when she woke up that morning. Her excitement was temporarily stifled when she opened her eyes to find one of the three women she shared her bedroom with standing naked on the other side of the room, but Alex was fairly used to dealing with other people's strange habits. It was hard to be picky when you were living in a homeless shelter and the only other option was sleeping in a bridge underpass.

After showering and dressing, Alex went downstairs to the kitchen. It was her turn to help make breakfast but that was one of the chores that she really didn't mind doing. She cooked at work too, although that wasn't much more than dunking fries into hot oil and putting frozen burgers onto a grill, but she was fairly comfortable cooking. Besides, she didn't trust some of the other woman with anything that she planned on ingesting. Today's meal was scrambled eggs, bacon and toast and Alex didn't skimp on filling her plate to the brim. She normally didn't eat very much at all but she didn't plan on coming back to the shelter for another filling dinner tonight. In fact, she didn't plan on coming back at all. Her backpack was filled with her work outfit and the two other sets of clothes that she owned, and she took one of the plastic garbage bags from the shelter storage room and packed her pillow, blanket and hygiene products into that.

Once breakfast was over, Alex met with her case worker, Rachel Fisher. The two had never been very compatible but again, Alex wasn't in a place where she could pick and choose who helped her. However, today she went into the woman's office with a smile on her face and explained that she had found a place to stay. It wasn't exactly true but in Alex's mind, she was already sure that Nick would take her in to wherever he was living. It was probably a dementedly exaggerated thought of optimism and was fairly out of character for her, who was normally a realist at best, but when it came to her brothers, Alex has years worth of hope waiting on this day. If she was finally going to meet someone who knew her brothers well, she wasn't going to let him go.

Rachel sent Alex on her way with good wishes and information on the small bank account that the shelter had forced her to deposit a large percentage of all of her work earnings into. There wasn't more than a couple thousand dollars in it but in the case that something went wrong, it was comforting to know that she could afford a hotel room or something for a few nights. Alex was sure that she wasn't going to need to resort to that though.

She arrived back at the apartment complex about half an hour before noon and sat on a bench that was strategically placed a few feet away from the entrance to the housing complex. She could see everyone who came in and out, as long as they were going in through the main entrance. She refused to worry as time ticked by, mostly because she didn't have a watch or cellphone to confirm that noon had come and gone over an hour ago. It was a good thing that she had waited too, because by one-thirty, a young man entered the complex. He was the only person who had entered who appeared to be close to her brothers' age so Alex took the chance and left her perch to follow the boy inside. To her happiness, he headed straight to the apartment that she had visited the day before and after he reappeared from inside the building, she stopped him.

"Hi! Are you Nick Cuarto?" she asked, stepping in front of him. As she studied his face, she felt like she recognized him from somewhere. Years back, she would occasionally visit her brothers and the restaurant they worked at, so she figured that maybe Nick had worked there as well. "This is really random, but I was told that you might have known my brothers. Oscar and Miguel Rodriguez? They used to live here and someone said that you lived with them too." She wanted to say more, to ask him everything he knew about her brothers, but she already felt like she was babbling and wanted to give him a chance to speak.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto Character Portrait: Alex Castoff
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Nick was the first one asleep the past night and he managed to sleep late that morning too. The stress of everything that had happened the day before must have worn him out because he woke up around ten and found Brooklyn resting peacefully next to him. He usually got up early on weekdays to meet some of the local prep school students on their way to school to see if they needed any drugs but he didn't mind missing a few sales today. He had a few small deliveries and then a big drop to make at an apartment complex downtown and that would bring in enough to compensate for the morning deliveries he skipped.

Because Brooklyn usually got back from work so late, Nick decided not to wake her when he finally pulled himself from the mattress. He grabbed a change of clothes and a small bag of weed, threw them into a backpack, and left the quiet warehouse. He walked a few blocks to an apartment building that one of her clients lived in and ten minutes and a bag of weed later, he returned to the streets now freshly showered. His next destination was a bagel shop down the street.

Normally, he would have checked to see if anyone wanted to get some breakfast but besides Brooklyn, he wasn't in the mood for company. He was definitely in better spirits than he was yesterday but oddly, he felt guilty for what had happened with Killens the day before. There wasn't a single part of him that felt like he had done anything wrong and he still blamed Killens for everything that went down, but he didn't think the animosity was fair for the others to have to deal with. They all lived in the warehouse together so even if a problem was only between two people, it affected everyone in some way or another. Nick wanted to believe that throwing Killens out for good would be the easy answer to their problem but regardless of how much anger he still felt towards him, he knew that one fight wasn't going to be enough to sever such a strong relationship.

After eating, he returned to the warehouse to find that Brooklyn was still sleeping, and although he wanted to hang out with her, he knew better than to wake her. He doubted that she would treat even him any better than she did to Holly when the younger girl woke her up, so he filled his backpack with today's deliveries and left. He normally would have sent Hailey out to bring them to his clients but he was making his weekly stop at the apartment building that he had lived in when he first started dealing and he preferred to go there himself.

Many of the residents who lived in the area when he had were still living there, so Nick made a few stops at surrounding buildings before eventually reaching the one he lived in. He was there to see Antonio who greeted him in the doorway. There exchange was quick: Nick handed him the zip and in return pocketed three hundred dollars. Antonio was clearly already high on something and didn't mention the girl he had told to come by today but he didn't have to because as soon as Nick stepped back outside, she approached him.

Before she even introduced herself as being Miguel's sister, Nick recognized her. She had a unique look to her, even when she was just a kid, and it only took a few seconds for him to match her with the younger version that he had met on various occasions. Miguel and Oscar spoke of their sister frequently but Nick never would have imagined that he would ever stumble upon her again, years after the boys died. Seeing her in person was surprising, to say the least, and although he knew that she wasn't related to the boys biologically, just seeing her face reminded him of them.

"Yeah, yeah," Nick said, a sincere smile appearing on his face after the girl finished talking. Her brothers had been the first people to take Nick in as real family after his grandparents died and he felt like her showing up right after he and Roman had a blowup had to be some sort of sign. He wasn't sure what, but it must be a good thing. Miguel and Oscar had looked out for him and now it was his turn to do whatever he could for their sister. "We had a place in here," he said, pointing back towards the apartment building. As much as he wanted to stay and chat, maybe even show her around, he knew better than to linger in an area where he had just made a deal. "Want to go grab a bite to eat?" he asked, then noticing the large trash bag that she was hauling next to her. "Here, I'll take that," he said, tossing it over his shoulder before heading down the street. "Why are you over here anyway? I thought your parents lived in Queens."

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2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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After leaving Holly to sleep, Cara's night ended pretty quickly too. She headed downstairs and down the hall, to his office, but found the door closed with a note taped to it. The words were scribbled nearly illegibly, reading, "Taking a conference call w/ clients from Beijing. Talk to you in the AM". The little bit of hope that she had that her father had changed and really did want their relationship to work out diminished at the sight of the note. He hadn't seen his daughter in over a year and for all he knew, she was dead, but now that she was finally home for an hour, she passed up the opportunity to talk to her for some client. She shook her head as she headed back upstairs, feeling like an idiot for even returning home.

She ended up falling asleep next to Holly in her bed, despite there being multiple other empty beds in the house. After her father blew her off, Cara doubted that she would ever be returning home again, so she decided to take the one opportunity she had to sleep in her own bed again. She soon realized that her bed was one of the biggest thing she missed about being home and it took only a few minutes for her to fall asleep.

-- 8 Hours Later --


Cara was woken by a gentle nudge to her arm and a pleasant but unfamiliar voice. "Caraline, darling, it's time to wake up. Your father wants you downstairs in thirty minutes."

She rolled over, knowing that she probably looked like a train wreck but being too tired to care. Once she opened her eyes, she found a middle-aged woman standing over her. Simply judging by the way she dressed and her demeanor, Cara could tell that she was hired help and waved her off with a confirmation that she would be down shortly.

For a moment, she felt like still lived there. Everything looked the same and felt the same and the woman could have been the same employee her father had hired years back who would wake her up every morning to go to school. As she sat up and turned her head though, she noticed Holly, who was still fast asleep on the other side of the bed. She was glad to see that Holly seemed to sleep through the night and figured that she would probably continue to for at least another few hours. Had Cara not been woken up, she probably would have as well.

She took a shower, which was only quick because she knew her father was waiting for her downstairs. Missing her bed seemed insignificant when she began to get dressed and realized just how much she had missed her clothes. Her large closet was still filled with the items she had purchased in the last days before leaving home and although the old Cara would never be caught dead wearing last years' clothes, the girl she had become would wear clothes from 2000 if they were clean and warm. She made a mental note to bring as much of the clothes as she could carry back to the warehouse when they left, but decided on a navy dress and gold sandals for today. After putting on some light makeup and brushing her hair, she headed downstairs.

The sweet smell of pancakes filled the first floor of the home and as Cara entered the kitchen, she spotted a woman standing over the stove and her father seated at the kitchen table. He appeared to have finished his food already and was reading the newspaper. He didn't seem to notice her until she sat down at the opposite end of the table but before he could go on about how important the call was last night, she spoke.

"When can I visit grandmother?"

"Visiting hours started at nine, so any time now should be fine. I wanted to be able to go with you bu-"

She cut him off, again not interested in whatever excuse he had to offer. "It's fine, dad. I'd rather go alone." The woman who had been cooking approached and silently placed a plate of food and a glass of orange juice in front of her. Cara turned to thank her, but she had already retreated back to where she had been cooking.

She began to eat but only a moment in, her father's cell phone started to ring. He glanced down at the screen and seemed to recognize the Caller ID because he quickly stood up and said, "I've got to take this. I'll have a car drive you in fifteen minutes," before promptly leaving the room.

Cara had decided to leave Holly at her home while she went to the hospital. She didn't expect to be long, so it didn't seem worth it to wake Holly up again, and more importantly, she didn't want to have to babysit Holly while visiting her ailing grandmother. As expected, the visit was short. Her grandmother was asleep when she got there but appeared drastically different than Cara remembered her to look. Her arms seemed so fragile and her hair, which was normally perfectly colored, was spotted with grays. There were oxygen tubes in her nose and some type of wire sticking in her arm. The doctor explained that her grandmother had cancer which had rapidly spread to some of her major organs, and they hadn't expected her to even make it this long. However, they did say that she had been awake and conscious for a few hours the day before and that it was possible that after some of her medication kicked in later that day, that she would be awake again.

She returned the the apartment around eleven and collapsed onto her bed next to the still sleeping Holly, hoping to get another few hours of sleep in before they returned to the warehouse.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto Character Portrait: Alex Castoff
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#, as written by Sophiex
Alex was overjoyed when Nick agreed to talk with her and even invited her to get food. She almost felt the way she would when her brothers would show up after being away from their family's apartment for weeks, and take her to get ice cream or something. This time though, she had been waiting years, and not just weeks, for the special day, and here it finally was. She had so many questions to ask him but didn't know where to start. She wanted to know if her brothers spoke of her much, what really happened when they were killed, if Nick had taken any of their belongings and more than anything, she wanted reassurance that her brothers were the heroes that she always thought them to be.

Nick took her bag and began to walk. Like a puppy, Alex followed close behind. "Yeah, my foster parents still live there," she responded, making a point to note that they weren't her biological parents. Although the couple had raised her to the best of their abilities, after her brothers began to turn against their parents, she did as well. She didn't think her brothers would call them parents either after they kicked them out and nearly disowned them after they got in a bit of trouble. "I left after I finished school and I was staying downtown for a while, but I'm kind of... in between homes right now," she said. Although at some point she did plan on asking Nick if she could stay with him, even for just a few nights, she didn't want to talk about herself right now. That wasn't why she came.

She kept quiet for most of the walk to the restaurant but as soon as they had their food, she refocused on her original purpose for meeting Nick. "So, I wasn't even allowed at the funeral for my brothers since I was young back then and our foster parents were dicks, so... what happened? Before and after the night it happened, I guess is what I mean," she said. She wasn't sure if she wanted, or was mentally ready, for a play-by-play account on how the shootings had went down but she wanted to more information than she currently had.

Although she ate some of her food, she was still full from the large breakfast she had consumed a few hours earlier and the butterflies in her stomach made it harder for her to eat anything more. For only a moment, she shifted her attention from Nick and to their surroundings and managed to read a clock on the opposite side of the restaurant. It was a few minutes past two in the afternoon and Alex was scheduled to work the three o'clock shift. The walk to the subway would take at least ten minutes and the subway ride itself would be another half hour. Part of her considered just saying 'screw it' and not showing up, but she wasn't stupid enough to think that she could get by without the job. "Ugh, I have work and I really can't be late... is there any way that we can talk later?" she asked, already standing up from the table.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Braden Gable Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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After hearing the story from Braden, Robbie couldn’t help but feel a curious twinge form in his stomach. If Brooklyn was capable of murder what would stop her from snapping one of these days. Especially with all the bullshit that has been happening between her and Hailey, there’s no telling when she’d snap.

He thought about Braden’s request and after a couple more swigs accepted. “I’ll ask tomorrow . . . or later, depending on what the hell time it is.” With that Braden finished up his beer, or was that beers, and headed downstairs leaving Robbie to the sounds of distant traffic and at the same time quiet. He finished up the beer he had quickly replacing it with another before he managed to drift off. It was god knows when when he fell asleep but he was pretty sure the sun had started to rise which always followed several car horns that turned into a million.



Jolting awake he leaned forward rubbing his eyes for what felt like an eternity. He was just waking up and was already being double teamed by the sun and the bullshit noise of traffic, his body was sore from the chair and it felt as though it was just ignoring all signs of life. He slid his hand from his eyes and rubbed his face awake ending with a light slap. Springing up he sluggishly headed downstairs figuring he might change and head out for something to eat or to just wake up his body.

He made sure not to be quiet so not to wake anyone, if anyone was home, the time was unknown but it seemed to be early enough. His eyes were mostly shut as he walked over to his spot until he heard a slight shuffle coming from the area, looking around revealed that it was Killens seemingly collecting the rest of his things. He was just about the last person he had wanted to see at the warehouse right now. Then again he was just doing a favor. Reluctantly he walked over to him and lightly tapped him with his foot “Ey, I need to talk to you. . . about something.” he said looking around for Brooklyn. She was always pissed off at someone or something and Robbie didn’t want them to have any issues.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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#, as written by Cure
Of all the people who could have tapped him, it had to be the one person he least wanted to see. Robbie stood beside him, looking like he just woke up with the mess of bedhead and wild eyes he showed. A hint of anger erupted in his chest; this was the guy he should have been getting mad with, not Nick. Speaking of whom, he wasn't in the warehouse. Now would be the perfect time to detail to Robbie just how pissed off with him he was. What was Nick going to do, kick him out twice? Roman was still feeling tense and uncomfortable, stiff even, and he was too tired to work up a worthless battle. Still though, he didn't bother masking his agitation, lightly slapping Robbie's foot away. Roman stood up.

"What?" he said tightly.

He realized looking Robbie in the eyes and actually speaking to him face to face proved a lot harder than he would have imagined. Killens didn't realize just how upset he was with the guy, but he still wanted to maintain his composure, something that had slipped his mind the previous afternoon during his rampage. He was as raw right now as he had been in a long while, since before he took the pills from the Robbie. Maybe that was why he was weighing his options out, why he didn't want to be the same person he was at night around the people he lived with by day. Nothing was running through his veins that could thwart his personality, or at least nothing strong enough, which was why he did take on some of the responsibility for his change in demeanor. It was him, not Robbie, who sought him out. It was him, not Nick, who was keeping a secret. He was keenly aware that this all fell on him, something he'd chosen to ignore for a few weeks going. Still, a remnant of his new self remained in tact and Killens allowed it to curse the very presence of Robbie. Whether or not Robbie felt guilt, or even realized all that had happened, was unbeknownst to Killens because Robbie seemed to lack any formal expression. Regardless, it was him who had managed to get thrown out, and he tried to remember that as he awaited Robbie's response.

"Make it quick too, yeah?" he said as he turned back to his things. He wanted to be out long before Nick returned. Whether it was shame or fear that drove this necessity was beyond him.

What he wanted to talk about was beyond Roman. They had nothing in common which was likely by default given their personalities. Roman sought friendship about as much as he sought enemies: hardly ever. He had Nick and Brooklyn, or at least he used to; that was enough for him. Robbie, too, seemed content with his own company, or the company provided by recreational drugs. There was no wonder neither of them were close. In fact, both of them weren't close to the lot of the warehouse. Had it not seemed so out of character for Robbie to want--no, "need"--to talk to Roman, and had his anger not been so profound with the boy, Killens would have easily dismissed him and left the warehouse for good. But just a few short weeks ago, Roman had approached him seemingly out of random, and at the time it did confuse Killens as to why Robbie was so lackadaisical about being approached by him--though it was predictable in his indifferent behavior, so it shouldn't have come to be much of a surprise, in hindsight--but it could have been the sheer curiosity that drove Robbie to allow the conversation. As such, Roman allowed his own curiosity to get the best out of him, deciding he would determine later whether or not it was worth his time.

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Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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With the slap to his foot and the intense glare that Killens was giving off the atmosphere had shifted. Robbie was expecting a lackluster conversation solely fueled on the curiosity and a simple request but what he walked into was hidden rage and the need to think about what he was about to ask with caution. Robbie clenched his jaw and looked around, he hadn’t felt so nervous in such a short amount of time in years. It was a feeling he could never overcome no matter the circumstance.

“Well, it’s more of a favor. . . Not to you but of me. Braden was curious. . . about something. Someone.” It was like he was back in grade school. Stumbling over his words and saying incoherent statements that would make anyone annoyed. “This is going to sound crazy but do you know anything . . . bout Brooklyn . . . her past specifically. . . about her parents?” he drifted.

He took a step back feeling extraordinarily uncomfortable along with the feeling that he was about to get decked in the face wasn’t helping any. “I only ask because you and Nick, obviously, knew each other the longest and Braden heard that she may have,” If there was ever a perfect time to get punched in the face it would be now “that she killed them.”

It was out now. He made sure to look back around the warehouse one more time making sure no one else was actually around and he had just not noticed, actually all he was looking for was Brooklyn. Robbie wasn’t someone that had any type of good luck and what he was asking seemed like it weighed heavy on him. The worst that would happen would be that he asked a stupid question. No harm in being curious but then again, curiosity killed the cat.

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto Character Portrait: Braden Gable Character Portrait: Robbie Amello
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#, as written by Cure
Killens impatiently narrowed his eyes as Robbie stammered over his words. Although he didn't show it as much as he felt it, Roman was initially very confused, and even more so when Brooklyn's name was mentioned. He began to reiterate it, again confused, until Robbie continued with that he wanted to talk about Brook's past, namely her parents. Killens stopped what he was doing to think. Robbie continued speaking even after Killens has been quiet for some time, maybe out of nerves. Or was he drunk already?

Brook's...parents? he thought internally. What the hell does he care about that for? And why was he asking him when he could just ask Brook himself? When he tuned in again, Robbie was still stammering, but Roman was able to pick out the mention of Braden. "Braden?" he said. It was just getting weirder and he noticed Robbie step back. Once he finished, Killens' face drained. Just as quick as it had happened, it stopped. At first he was startled at what kind of question that was, but then he remembered a while back...

It was some time ago. Brook might have been about seventeen or so; himself, no more than fourteen. She was still new to him at the time, Nick having met her not long before he turned eighteen. Roman had been out on his own for about a year when it happened, and he still wasn't sure where he stood with the guy that saved his life not too long ago. Although Nick was anything but mean to Killens, he still had a deep fear of the guy. He killed two people for Christ's sake. Roman wasn't about to go get on shaky grounds with his girlfriend. So when she offered to take him out to lunch, he reluctantly agreed. It was a nice gesture, and a surprising one. Roman hadn't eaten in a restaurant in a long time.

He wasn't sure about Brooklyn's take on the situation, but for him it was mentally exhausting and quite awkward. She was relatively intimidating not only from her attitude but she was pretty attractive too. He wasn't sure if this was just some way for her to sabotage him, so he didn't want to say much, but he didn't want to come off as rude either. Looking back, he'd probably said a maximum of only a few full-on sentences to her, still being painfully shy after just a year off from his sheltered life. When she excused herself to the bathroom, it was a breath of fresh air. He could finally get his thoughts together and mentally check himself. Soon after Brooklyn had left though, two girls has come over and sat right across him. They, too, were very pretty and, again, Roman had no idea what to do with himself. He settled on the best thing to say in those kinds of situations:

"You don't sit here."

They had simply laughed it off, asking if he was dating Brooklyn. Roman was very quick to deny the accusations, not knowing who the girls were or if they were trying to spread a rumor that could get to Nick and promptly lead to his ass being dropped on the streets--alone.

"Oh," one of them said. "Well, I guess that's good. It means you actually have a chance of getting away from her before she kills you."

"Sorry?" he said.

"You don't know?" the other one echoed. They both looked at each other for what seemed like ages. Roman knew he was redder than a cherry as he waited for them to explain what in fact he did not know. "She's fucking psycho. She watched her dad stab her mom to death and then she did the same to him. Then, you know, she ran away after that. Changed her name and shit."

Before he could ask questions, Brooklyn had arrived and a big altercation ensued. It was on the brink of being physical until the manager threw them out. Afterwords Brooklyn sternly asked him what he'd heard. Under no circumstance could his situation have played out well if he said something along the lines of, "Oh, you know. Just said hello. Might have brought up you killing your family off, changing your name? Nothing to get jumpy over." Instead he could only think about what she would say to Nick. What he would do. Hell, not just Nick, but Brook too. She was already quite a scary figure to him back then and quite tall; this was before he shot up to 6'2. All he wanted was for there to be no drama. He wanted to forget the entire thing even happened, so he told her that they only told him that they used to be friends. End of story. He could tell she was skeptical, but she didn't pursue him anymore. For the next few weeks he was at a crossroads, feeling it was his duty to protect Nick in the event that Brook was the pyscho bitch the girls portrayed her to be. But Roman also had to protect himself. He wasn't sure when he got over this and started to become her friend. Robbie bringing up something as crazy as that got him realizing that he had nearly forgotten the event even took place.


He didn't know the details of the situation and, like before, he had no desire to. Not because he felt threatened or even pressured to destroy his good standing with Nick. The latter was thrown away, and for the former, well, he knew Brooklyn now. But he also knew the others at the warehouse and they weren't close to her like he was. It would just be dirty gossip, especially coming from Robbie, and who else? Braden? Robbie was too much of a drug addict to have a conscience. Braden didn't give a shit about anybody but himself. His anger boiled as he stood up, dropping his bag. Within the next blink he had his hand wrapped around Robbie's neck, pushing him against the wall. Typically he never would have gotten this physical with any person in the warehouse, but starting now him and Robbie had a past. He could let the drug mess up slide because some of that, most of that, was his own fault. But he wasn't about to let this one go.

"I'm not repeating myself, so listen closely. You mind your fucking business. Got it? I don't want to hear you bring it up again; don't even fucking think it or I will come back here and make sure you don't walk again. I already don't like you. After your bullshit with the drugs? I know you just like seeing people being as fucked up as you are. You're not going to do that shit to Brook though. You want to pass a message back to Braden? You tell him he better keep his mouth shut too, or it's his ass." Roman let go then, not realizing until that moment how tightly he was squeezing Robbie. He couldn't see straight, he was so mad. A good part of him didn't want to let Robbie go. He wanted to finish him off and then wait for Braden to come back so he could put him in check too.

Roman quickly went back to his gatherings as a distraction. That and he didn't want anyone else to see him like this, twice in a row at that. He hated that he had to leave because there was no guarantee any of that had even affected Robbie. Braden probably had his own motives, but when pressured Roman was sure he wouldn't do anything. Now he was in the same position he was in all those years back. To tell Nick or not to? It wasn't his position to give out Brook's secret like that. But who else would keep her secret from getting out if he wasn't here? Not only that, but a new worry of his since befriending her...how would she react? He stopped towards the end of his packing to look at Robbie again. "I mean what I said. You don't want to test me." With that he collected the rest of his things before leaving hastily. Although he was in such a rush out of fear that if he stayed any longer he would quite literally end Robbie's life, but he had also scared himself. He didn't want this to be a natural reaction of his, to suddenly turn into a completely different person. Now he was thinking Nick must have been right about him needing to leave. He'd changed too much to be trusted. He hardly trusted himself now.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Brooklyn Belle Character Portrait: Roman Killens Character Portrait: Nick Cuarto
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Brooklyn slept soundly for a good seven hours, something that she wouldn't have expected after all of the craziness that had ensued the previous night. It was around two in the afternoon when she began to stir and with Nick missing beside her, she had little reason to stay in bed. When she did get up, she realized that it wasn't only Nick who was absent from the warehouse and that she was actually the only one still in bed. Everyone usually did their own thing during the day so it wasn't alarming, and she guessed that at least one of the boys were on the roof, a popular hangout spot when someone wanted to smoke or drink. However she was only concerned with Nick's presence and since he wasn't there, Brooklyn didn't feel like sitting around either.

She changed into a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and flip flops, and spent a good ten minutes attempting to do her makeup with only a small compact mirror to help. She wasn't scheduled to a work a shift tonight which meant that she had the entire day to do as she pleased, but Brooklyn wasn't sure what it was that she wanted to do. Going to the gym, going shopping and finding Nick were all possibilities, but Brooklyn wasn't in the mood to sweat, she didn't want to blow all of her money in one shopping spree, and with Nick's profession, he could be anywhere in Manhattan at any given moment.

As Brooklyn passed Roman's bed on her way out, she felt a tinge of guilt for leaving him without help the day before. He look so battered and vulnerable and if what he said had been true, for all she knew, he could be dead by now. Still, she tried to reassure herself that she had no choice but to tell Roman no. He put her on the spot and when it came down to it, she had to and would choose Nick over him no matter what the circumstances were. Situations like these were one of the main reasons for why Brooklyn preferred to be emotionless, regardless of whether people interpreted it as her being cold or cruel. It was easier not to feel or empathize with anyone because it only made things more complicated.

She wasn't hungry but did decide to get a coffee as she walked in hopes that it would give her the energy to shake the bad feelings that were beginning to consume her again. Her itinerary for the day was still unplanned and although she had decided against it earlier, as she passed by clothing stores, she couldn't help but to turn inside. Just to look, she promised herself.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Hailey Bennett Character Portrait: Holly Bennett Character Portrait: Cara Forrester
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#, as written by Writer
Between her short rest at the warehouse and then her time at Cara's house, Holly slept for a solid fourteen hours before waking. It was more than she normally slept in nights combined, so when she did wake, it took only a few minutes for her to return to her energetic self. With Cara asleep next to her, Holly didn't hesitate to get up herself and explore what she had been too tired to look through the night before.

Cara's room was large and elegant. There wasn't an item that appeared to be out of place on any of the shelves in the room and the same could be said for the closet which Holly could have easily mistaken for another room had it not been filled with an endless amount of clothes. She was awestruck and although she wanted to pull every garment off of their hangers and examine them separately, she was somewhat scared to. As she reflected on the house she had quickly toured the night before, she remembered how fragile everything seemed. It reminded her of a field trip she had went on with her school to a museum nearly ten years ago. Holly had been more than excited to go on the trip. It had been one of the few that she was able to go on, seeing as her mother rarely offered the small cash fee that the school charged for the bus ride, making it all the more exhilarating for her. The students were all separated into small groups and were allowed to explore the museum for an hour before meeting back in the lobby. Within five minutes of arrival, though, Holly had already been reprimanded multiple times for her energy and was forced to stay by her teacher's side for the rest of the trip. "What's so hard to understand about not touching these things, Holly? How many times did I tell you that you aren't allowed to run in here and you most certainly are not allowed to go under the ropes and touch the exhibits. You need to learn how to listen." She could still hear her teacher's nagging voice echoing in her head and she could similarly feel as out of place as she had that day.

However nervous the idea of breaking something expensive made her feel, Holly couldn't resist being mesmerized by all of the new things around her. Like usual, her curiosity overpowered the caution and she ran her hands through the rows of clothes until she came across as small blue dress. It piqued her interest enough that she pulled it from the shelf and off of its hanger, holding it up to her body as she gazed into one of the many mirrors in the closet. She loved it and with Cara still being asleep, she didn't see any harm in trying it on. Before slipping out of her current clothes though, she decided that she didn't want to try on a new dress without showering first. It had been over a day since she had last taken one and she had noticed a few minutes before that Cara had a bathroom attached to her room. She brought the dress in with her and although she normally took excessively long showers, her excitement to try on the dress forced her to spend only twenty minutes under the water. She found a fluffy towel in the bathroom closet and wrapped it around her body before sliding into the dress. It fit her well and with her being a good few inches shorter than Cara, she should have been surprised that Cara would have something so small, but Holly rarely analyzed things like that. She was just happy to have a new dress. Hailey rarely allowed her to buy clothes that weren't functional like jeans or t-shirts, and a party dress was definitely too frivolous for their lifestyle.

After ringing her hair out in the towel, she dropped it to the floor and left the steam-filled bathroom. Cara was still asleep but Holly didn't hesitate to shake the blonde until she woke. "Can I keep this?" she asked, a typical on-the-spot question of Holly. She spun around and giggled, more than happy with her new find than to remember to ask why they had even ended up at Cara's house.