Chapter 2

But right under me was the fire. If I fell, I would die. I scooted. So close , I thought. Then, My foot slipped and this time I didn't regain my balance. "NO!" Jason yelled.

I started to fall.

I grabbed the wood. My hand was sliding because I didn't have a good grip. The wood was putting thorns in my hand so it was a struggle to hold on. I tried to put my other hand on the wood but it wouldn't touch it. I have never done pull-ups so I really couldn't lift up with one hand to put the other one on the wood. "Don't worry." Jason told me as he reached his hand out.

"What happened to catching me?" I asked in between breaths.

"I'm sorry but let go and I will grab your hand I promise you." He commanded me.

"Isn't that what you said last time." I said as I felt my hand coming to the edge of the wood.

"Trust me." He begged.

I guess I have to. I let go and reached my hand up. He caught it. Jason pulled me up to the other side. I wasn't breathing right. My heart was beating really quick. I was sweating. I was having a panic attack and forgot to bring my pills. I couldn't talk because, when I tried to it just became a lump in my throat. My whole body was shaking. "What's wrong with her, why is she freaking out Lance!" Jason panicked.

"Hold on I have medicine sort of thing for this. It might calm her down." Lance told him.

How did they get pills? Lance handed Jason a white bottle with a red and green stripe. "She is having a panic attack?" Jason asked as he pulled out a pill.

"Here you go." Jason said as he popped it in my mouth.

I was still shaking. "WHY ISN'T IT WORKING!" Jason screamed.

He seemed really scared. "IT TAKES A WHILE!" Lance yelled back angrily.

Jason was rocking back and forth. "Come on, kid." Jason mumbled.

Kid. That calmed me down. I don't know why but it seemed like I had been called it before. Who was it? My father. Just thinking of him made me happy. He did so many nice things. The man went to random people and told them hello and everything would be okay and maybe give them a hug. He gave homeless people money. Maybe these people knew him. Soon, I calmed down. Just by thinking of dad. "That was terrible." I laughed.

"Oh my god." Jason sighed relieved as he pushed his hands through his hair.

"Why did you freak out." I asked him.

"Sorry for freaking out when someone is in pain." He said holding his hands up like he was surrendering.

"Well I would take you back downstairs to sit by the fire but I think you need to sit down a bit." Lance told me.

I nodded. "I am going to go downstairs and tell them what happened and see if she is ready to go to the Bullet with us." Jason announced and then went downstairs.

"What is the bullet?" I asked Lance.

"This street where rich people are but they don't have alarm systems. They also don't notice when things go missing." Lance told me as he put some pills in a cabinet.

They must be stocked. "Just don't wake them up." Lance warned.

I laughed. "They would be comfortably asleep in their extra extra comfy beds, how would little old me wake them up?" I sarcastically said.

"I mean the dogs." He told me.

"Oh." I whispered.

"Yep." Lance laughed popping the 'p'.

I finally could breathe correctly and Jason came in. "They said she could come if she promises not to freak out." Jason said.

"She is right here, just speak to her." I told him pointing at my self.

Jason smirked and walked out. "I promise." I called to him.

"Okay I think we should get you past the walkway." Lance suggested.

I agreed and I got safely across. It took a few minutes but I did it. "You're coming?" Gwen said confused.

"Did Lance tell you about the man-eating dogs?" She questioned.

"I thought you would freak out!" Gwen yelled.

"Well don't just assume stuff, Gwen." I told her.

She rolled her eyes and put her ginger hair into a ponytail. As did the other girls. Also, Lance decided to even though his hair was only a little past his chin. "Can I have a ponytail?" I asked Rosella.

She nodded and handed me one. I put it on and I already knew how bad I looked. "Hey! Give me back my hair tie." Gwen commanded me.

Her hair was down, but it was just up? Rosella chuckled. "Oh my gosh, Rosella, stop framing the new girl." Gwen rolled her eyes.

Rosella bursted out laughing. I was really confused by then. "She is an expert at pick pocketing." Sarah explained to me.

I nodded understandingly. "I didn't even see her and I was staring at her." I told them surprised.

Rosella nodded. She was amused how I was so amazed by what just happened. "We need to go, come on." Lance announced as he walked out the door.

Everyone followed and Gwen and I were the last out. "I want to see you climb that fence." Gwen said.

I shrugged and climbed up quickly as before. "Not bad." She decided as she slowly clapped.

Gwen then climbed over the rusty fence. "Did you feel like you had done it trillions of time before?" Rosella asked me.

"Yeah, everything just worked and believe me I have never even went all the way up the playground rock wall." I laughed.

Everyone else but Lance laughed with me. Lance seemed like the serious one. Rosella was the sweet and sneaky one. Gwen was totally the sarcastic moron.
Jason was the laid back one who cares about you. Sarah was the crazy leader. What was I in this group? How did I fit in? We walked past the plaza and I saw across the road, Bullet Street. "Is that the Bullet?" I asked them.

Sarah nodded and we started to walk towards it. I could see mansion after mansion after mansion and on. "So Kennedy, what do you think?" Jason asked smiling.

"I would like that one, that one, ooh and those." I answered pointing at every house on the street.

"These owners here party at night so we skip their house." Lance told me.

"Why do we go here in the morning?" I asked confused of why we would break in during broad daylight.

"Everybody is out visiting." Lance explained.

Then, we entered the first house. Only problem was that the door was locked. While Rosella tried to unlock it with a bobby pin, I admired the towering house. It was a white house with brown boards lining around the many windows. The porch had a rocking chair and bird feeders that a bird was currently on. "Got it!" Rosella excitedly whispered.

She slowly pushed the door open and peeked inside. Nobody was there. We all walked in. This was too unusual. Everything was silent, no alarms, no man-eating dogs, and no people. "Jason and Rosella go to the master bedroom." Sarah commanded.

"Lance and Kennedy go to kitchen." Sarah told us.

"Gwen and I will stay in here." Sarah said last.

Lance and I ran off into the kitchen. The kitchen was massive. It had a small wood table in the corner that had a flower pot in the middle filled with daisies. In the middle of the room a small marble table. Then, a marble counter with freshly carved white cupboards. "Stop admiring and hurry up and grab some food." Lance said.

I looked at him angrily. "You're not my mom." I said back to him.

"You're a loser." Lance replied.

"You need to cut your hair." I told him.

I heard him laugh quietly. Good one, I thought. The fridge had a banquet for a thousand. I licked my lips as I picked up some turkey. "This good?" I asked holding up the turkey.

"How many do they have?" He asked me.

"4." I replied.

He nodded in agreement. We gathered more food then, went to the living room. Everyone was there waiting. "They could be home any minute." Gwen yelled as we ran out.

We ran to the house next door. A newspaper was laying down on the driveway. "These people actually found us one day and called the cops." Gwen informed me.

I looked at them shocked. "Why are you out of jail?" I asked her.

"See, that is the thing, after we explained we were homeless and we were just so hungry, she told the police to go back and now she gives us stuff weekly." Gwen told me happily.

Lance pulled out a box from in the bushes. He opened it and we all gathered around to see what is inside. It reveled a box of kleenex, bread, butter, and sweet tea. "Thank you." Lance smiled.

Then, we were on out way back. "These days aren't always easy." Jason told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked with my eyebrows furrowed.

He lifted up his pants to show me a bite mark on his calf. "Is that from a dog?" I gasped.

He shook his head. "You'd never guess." He told me.

"What was it?" I asked impatiently.

"You'd laugh at me." He answered.

"You better tell me now!" I yelled at him jokingly.

"A little girl." Jason answered.

"A little girl?" I asked to make sure I understood him correctly.

He nodded. I tried so hard not to laugh but I couldn't hold it in. I bursted out laughing. "Shh!" He commanded, trying to not let the orhers hear my laugh.

"A little girl bit you?" I laughed hysterically.

"She had sharp teeth!" Jason told me.

"She was like a shark!" He explained.

"Explain this story." I commanded him.

"We were starting to leave when the family came home so we all hid. I was alone in her bedroom so when she walked in, the little girl saw me and her instinct was to tackle me and hit me and bite." He laughed.

I laughed so hard all the way back to The Runaway's home.

~~~~

We got back and I went directly to the fire because, I was freezing. "Cold?" I heard a voice behind me ask.

I spun around. Jason stood behind me. I nodded. He sat himself next to me. We smiled at each other. Jason grabbed a blanket off the chair next to him. He wrapped it around is both. The fire burned bright orange. "First day, interesting." I said aloud.

Jason laughed. "First day, met a super hot guy named Jason." He announced loudly. I chuckled. "I bet you can't wait for a second day." Jason guessed.

"I honestly can't believe I ran away." I suddenly said.

Jason looked at me worried. " I left because, I was tired of the normal routine and I wanted to be free, so I ran away." Jason explained.

"How did you find The Runaways?" I questioned him as I turned towards him feeling the heat on my right cheek.

"I was on the corner eating a sandwich I had got and Sarah handed me a few chips and we ate together." Jason started his story.

"Then, she asked if I was alone. I told her I was and she asked if I wanted to stay with her." Jason went on.

"AND YOU WENT WITH HER!" I gasped.

"That is so creepy!" I laughed.

He agreed. "But I was lonely and 15." Jason said.

"I'm so tired." I told him.

"Then, go to sleep." He laughed as he patted my head. I was slowly drifting off. My eyes became heavy. I felt my head lay on a solid surface and then, I went to sleep.