that's where i know just who i am

Cherry kept her head down as she followed Flora through crowds of people, readjusting her bag of belongings on her shoulder. "I'm tired, Flora." She murmured quietly. "We've been walking for hours, can we just find somewhere to sit down?" She asked meekly, not even bothering to look up. The girls had taken a risk and ran from everything they'd known, and even though Cherry knew it was for the greater good, she wrapped her arms around herself nervously, hoping that their parents weren't out searching.

Luke entered the quiet coffee shop with Michael, hidden down an alley in the busy street. "Alright," he grinned. "One caramel frappuccino for you, one cappuccino for me, any other requests?" He asked his band mate and best friend, roughing up his hair, grateful to be out of the crowd and able to relax a bit more, knowing that no one would recognise them here, of all places. "I definitely want a doughnut."

Flora carefully held her bag to herself as they walked, determined to put as much distance between themselves and their parents as humanly possible. They'd put up with the abuse enough - emotional and physical - and Flora honestly felt like it was time they took their lives into their own hands. She paused, though, hearing Cherry, and she looked to her sister, watching her for a moment before she nodded. "Okay," she murmured, reaching to give Cherry's arm a gentle squeeze. "We'll duck into the first place we find, okay?" She wasn't sure how they were going to survive like this, but she knew they'd have to find a way, because going back to their parents was out of the question. Looking ahead, she spotted a coffee shop and motioned. "What about there?"

Michael rolled his shoulders a bit, looking around the coffee shop, relieved with how quiet the place was. As much as he loved the noise of fans and crowds, it was nice to find a quiet place when they could, if only to get away and think for a while and relax. Settling his attention back on his friend, he grinned and shook his head. "No, the caramel frappuccino is all I need right now," he assured with amusement, though he was definitely looking forward to the energy boost. "I can go find a spot for us to sit, since you're getting the drinks and your doughnut." He made a teasing face at his friend, patting his shoulder before he wandered off to find them a good area to tuck away in, away from prying eyes.

Cherry nodded in agreement as Flora motioned to a small coffee shop, out of the way. She looked over her shoulder, following Flora as her stomach rumbled. It had been days since either had eaten a full meal, and the long walk had made Cherry feel dizzy. Focusing on Flora's presence, Cherry lead the way into the coffee shop, keeping her head down, knowing her cheek was swollen. Seeing a seat towards the back, that seemed relatively quiet, Cherry lead her sister there, sitting on the seat that pressed into the wall. Sinking into it, Cherry exhaled. "At least it's warm in here."

Luke rolled his eyes at Michael. "You're missing out." He teased his friend, going to put in their order. Watching as two girls entered the shop, Luke couldn't tear his gaze from them, the last girl in especially. Watching with a gentle frown as the girls headed to the back of the store, Luke accepted his and Michael's order, finding where Michael had gone to sit, sitting opposite him. "Look," he murmured quietly, hinting to the girls, sat one table away. He wasn't being cruel, but Luke had been raised to be a compassionate human being, and something told him that these girls were in trouble.

Flora ducked into the shop after her sister, peering back towards the door anxiously, trying to remind herself that there was no way their parents would find them. Sticking close to Flora, she sat across from her sister, watching her with concern, but nodded slightly. "Lucky us," she murmured, offering a weak smile, though she could feel an ache in her stomach that came with the aroma in the shop. Trying to ignore it, she set her bag in her lap, trying to untense herself. "You okay?"

Michael had been toying with his phone when his friend came back and he blinked, following his friend's gaze, seeing the two girls, though his gaze drifted to one in particular, a small frown forming on his face when he saw that her cheek looked a little swollen. He felt an odd sense of protectiveness form in him and he wasn't sure if it was because it was wrong for anybody to get hurt like that or because the girl looked so scared. "I'll be back," he said quietly before he stood up and made his way over to the table, offering a small smile. "Hi, there, ladies. I'm Michael. Can I get you anything?"

Cherry nodded to Flora. "I'm okay." She promised, counting their money on the table, wondering what they could afford with the little they'd left with. Cherry didn't know how they'd survive, but she would rather live on the streets than live in that house any longer. Tensing as a young man approached the table, she blinked in surprise when he told them his name was Michael. Looking to Flora in surprise, Cherry looked back to Michael, studying him carefully.

Luke followed Michael's lead, offering a small smile to the girls. "Hi there, I'm Luke, I'm with this string bean." He hinted to Michael, hoping the girls' could sense that they weren't there to hurt them. "Coffee, doughnut? Our treat." He smiled, his gaze focusing on the girl that had so easily caught his attention when he saw her enter the shop. Although he could feel the fear radiate from her, he still offered, knowing that a friendly face would be just what they needed about now.

Michael made a face at his friend's comment, but focused back on the girls, his gaze naturally drifting to Cherry, unable to really help it - not that he would even want to. "We can even give you company, if you want," he offered up gently, offering a smile, "We promise not to pry about whatever's going on, unless you want to talk about it. But, if you do want to talk about it, we'll listen. Or we can just all sit in silence and enjoy our drinks and snacks."

Flora chewed hard on her lip, nervous and tense with the guys' arrival, though she couldn't bring herself to look at them, watching Cherry instead. While she didn't want to feel like she owed these guys anything, she didn't want either herself or Cherry to starve to death, and she doubted many opportunities would come where they could get something without spending the last of their money. "Okay," she murmured eventually, "Coffee and doughnut would be nice..." Even if it wouldn't fill them up.

Cherry focused on her sister, the only safety she had ever known. "Some company would be nice, too." She murmured, still not looking at Michael, but just the tone in which he spoke made her feel safe, protected, and it brought her comfort knowing that he was close to her, even though he could of been anyone, lulling herself and her sister into a false sense of security.

Luke nodded. "I'll go order." He told Michael. "You shift our things over this way." He smiled. "Ladies, I will be right back with your order." He smiled reassuringly, despite neither of them looking at him. Moving to the counter, Luke got them both a hot sandwich, a large coffee, and a doughnut each, but still, curiosity washed over him, but he knew it would be wrong to pry. All he knew is that he wanted to protect the girls. Grabbing their things, Luke took them back to the table, handing the girls their food. "Eat up, enjoy." He smiled, taking a seat next to Flora, not rushing or making any sudden moves, still sensing the fear.

Michael smiled, watching Cherry with concern gently but nodded to Luke. Heading to the table they'd been at, he grabbed their things and brought them over to Cherry ad Flora's table, sitting next to Cherry as he set everything down. He didn't touch anything, though, not wanting to drink until the girls' things were there. "If anybody comes in that you don't want to see you, let us know and we'll make sure to hide you," he assured gently, offering a small smile to Cherry, wanting to comfort her more than anything.

Flora didn't take her gaze off her sister, wondering if they could really trust these guys. It almost felt like they were too nice, unbelievably nice, and it made Flora worry a bit, but she tried not to think about it. The moment Luke set down everything for her and Cherry, Flora could feel her stomach grumble painfully, and she shifted, reaching for her sandwich first, eager to start eating. "Thank you," she said quietly before she started, glad to get some food in her system.

Cherry looked at Michael, finally lifting her head when Flora began to eat the food that Luke presented to them. "Is it that obvious that we're running from something?" She asked meekly, pulling her plate towards her. "Thanks for the food." She picked at her sandwich, even though she was hungry, she still hesitated, but took a mouthful when Flora did, feeling a little safer.

Luke smiled at Flora. "It's absolutely no problem." Nodding along to Michael's words, he smiled weakly. "Yeah, if you see someone that you're not comfortable spotting you, we can help you hide, don't worry about it. You're safe here." Luke promised, drinking his own coffee, studying Flora as she ate. "So, you local to this area?" He asked, just wanting to start a small conversation.

"Just a little," Michael assured her gently, offering a smile, "I'm mostly going by what I see... You each have a bag and your cheek's a little swollen... So, I'd assume either an abusive boyfriend or parents have something to do with it." He was careful with how he phrased his words, not wanting to put her on edge and not wanting to upset her. "Like I said, you don't have to talk about it, but we'll help however we can."

Flora shifted several times, trying to ignore what Michael said, but she focused on eating but she ran her mind over Luke's words several times. Were they really safe there? There was the chance that something could go horribly wrong any moment and she found herself frowning down at her sandwich, but she still ate. "Yeah, we are," she said quietly, "Local, I mean." She shrugged weakly and reached for her mug to take a sip of the drink.

"Oh." Cherry ducked her head slightly, staring at her food. "Boyfriend, yeah right." She snorted with laughter, although it was empty, no humour at all behind it. As if their parents would let the girls have any kind of freedom. "Thanks, either way." She smiled, not wanting to seem ungrateful, but she wasn't ready to speak yet.

Luke smiled, nodding. "We, uh, we didn't catch your names." He spoke gently, taking a protective stance next to Flora when she confirmed they were local. He looked to Michael, wondering what they could do to extend their invitation of keeping the girls safe, seeing that the situation they were running from was serious and had left the girls frightened, and he hated it, he hated the thought that Flora was afraid of anything.

Michael blinked slowly with the humorless laugh and he wondered what exactly was going on. Still, he nodded in understanding. "That's okay, the offer's still there," he assured her gently, offering a smile as he watched her, just wanting to protect her, worried that anything could happen to her and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. "Do you two need somewhere to crash and hide out, then?"

Flora looked up at Luke for the first time, unsure about the thought of telling these guys their names. It worried her, that if they told their names and their names came on the news in some way, somebody would inevitably turn them in. Swallowing her nerves, she dropped her gaze back to her food, focusing on eating it for a few moments. "I'm Flora, she's my sister, Cherry," she told him eventually, relenting.

Cherry smiled weakly at Michael. "Um," she looked to Flora. "We... actually, yeah, we do." She relented. She was scared, of course she was, but there was something about Michael that brought the calm to the disorder. "We're basically homeless now." She explained quietly, drinking her hot coffee. "But I'd rather live on the streets than go back to where we just came from." She frowned. "So would Flora."

Luke smiled. "Beautiful names." He commented, staying casual. Frowning as he heard Cherry tell Michael they're basically homeless, Luke cleared his throat. "I'm sorry if I come on too strong, but there's no way I'm letting you stay on the streets." He frowned. "Whoever you're running from could find you, especially if you're local." He looked to Michael. "Michael and I basically live on the same street, our doors are always open to you, for as long as you need a home."

Michael nodded as he listened to her, his expression softening with concern, because she didn't deserve a life like that. "Luke's right," he mentioned gently, offering a smile to her, "We can take you two to our homes. It'll be safe there, and you'll have food and shelter. We may be strangers, but we want to help, so if you'll let us help, we'd be happy to let you both crash at our homes for as long as you want."

Flora listened quietly, looking at Luke, then to Cherry, unsure of what to do. The offer sounded too good to be true, but she didn't want to sleep on the streets again and she didn't want to go hungry again, and she didn't want either of those for Cherry, either. But, she didn't want to make the decision alone and she chewed on her lip as she watched her sister. "What do you think, Cher?" she asked quietly.

Cherry looked to Michael, before looking to Flora. "We uh, we wouldn't be imposing in any way, right?" She asked meekly, pushing her sandwich away when she felt full. "We're really grateful for the offer." She said truthfully. "It's nice to have someone who genuinely cares." It was a shame that the only people who showed Flora or Cherry any form of kindness were two strangers. "Okay." She nodded, knowing that Flora would be safe with Luke, and the sisters would still be close to each other.

Luke smiled. "Then it's settled." He announced. "Well, when you're done here, we can take you home. You look tired, and if you want to sleep, or eat, or look around, that's cool with me." He smiled at Flora, wanting her to feel valued, seeing that love was something she'd never heard enough of. "The games room is pretty cool." He grinned to Flora. "Although, I suck at Mario Kart, and Michael kicks my ass at least once a week." He smiled, hoping to make Flora laugh.

Michael smiled and shook his head. "No, you absolutely would not be imposing. We want to help you," he assured her quietly, "Besides, it was our idea." He grinned slightly when she agreed to the idea overall, though, relieved that she had agreed, because he wanted to protect her and keep her safe, and even make her happy. It seemed like she didn't have much of that in her life, from what he could tell, and he wanted to be able to provide as much of that as he could for her, because she genuinely deserved it. "We can go whenever you're ready."

Flora chewed on her lip as she finished her sandwich and drink, but wrapped her doughnut up for later. It surprised her that these guys were so nice, and it was heartbreaking at the same time. Complete strangers were kinder to them than their parents had ever been. "Oh, um, I'm ready to go when Cherry is," she assured, but blinked as she peered up at Luke, "A games room?" And, while it had shocked her, the shock of his next words made her laugh a bit, but she quickly covered her mouth, too used to their parents getting angry if they got too loud.

Cherry wrapped her own doughnut up for later, following Flora's example. Looking to her sister, Cherry offered her a small smile. "I'm ready." She nodded, smiling as she heard her sister laughing. Flora deserved so much happiness, she was happy to see she might get it within Luke. Looking to Michael, Cherry studied him. "Uh, lead the way, I guess." She smiled weakly. Michael had a comforting air around him, and she couldn't help but relish in it.

Luke smiled at Flora's laugh, the sound like music to his ears. "I love your laugh." He complimented. "A games room." Luke confirmed with a playful glint in his eyes. "I mostly play Mario Kart, but I've stopped because Michael's won a lot of bragging rights and I'm sick of hearing them." He stuck his tongue out at his friend and band mate. Taking his jacket off to wrap around Flora's shoulders, Luke offered Flora his hand, smiling gently.

Michael smiled slightly and nodded to her words. "Alright," he told her, glad that he'd be able to protect her. Shifting, he tugged off his own jacket to place around her, though he pulled the hood up to cover her face so that nobody could see or recognize her if they happened to come across anybody that would have. Shifting, he stood up and offered his hand out to her. "Let's get you somewhere safe and warm, then. You deserve it." He grinned, already thinking the world of her and wanting to do whatever it took to give her some form of happiness.

Flora blinked to his words, looking over with surprise, though she felt her cheeks warm slightly before she ducked her head. It was such a contrast from how their parents treated them and it amazed her, honestly. Still, she nodded slightly. "Are we allowed to play games in the games room?" she asked quietly, chewing on her lip before she dared to look at him again, smiling slightly at his teasing to his friend. Feeling his jacket around her, though, she felt an odd sense of belonging and comfort and she watched him for a moment before placing her hand in his and standing up. "Thank you."

Cherry slipped Michael's jacket further onto her shoulders, adjusting the hood with a small laugh as it fell over her eyes. Feeling Michael's body heat and smelling his aftershave from the jacket put Cherry at ease, and she smiled gratefully at him, accepting his hand and squeezing gently. "Thank you, Michael. Really." She mumbled, seeing that it had began to get dark outside. She and Flora had been walking all day, and Cherry was excited to get some form of rest, grateful it wasn't in a shop entrance.

Luke grinned. "You're allowed. You don't even have to ask." Luke smiled, using his free hand to put the hood up, making sure that if they ran into anyone that the girls were running from, Flora at least had some form of protection. "Use my home like yours." He told her. "I'm not your owner." He told her gently, leading her out of the coffee shop and into the bitter air, glad he'd given Flora his jacket. "This way."