wanting more

Luke sat on his bed, his legs crossed and his back against the wall as he laughed at something Ashton had said, looking to Michael and Calum to see if they'd found it just as amusing. "Shut up, that didn't happen." He teased. Luke had been in this home for a long time - and he could honestly say it helped. Luke had become a much better person than what he was before he came to Mary and this house, but he'd never admit it out loud. Luke wasn't exactly the easiest person to deal with during his early teenage years - he broke laws, was drunk almost every day and was out of control for the longest time, and being moved here was a shock, but he couldn't imagine himself with anyone else. Hearing voices outside though, Luke frowned, shifting off his bed to look out of the window, seeing two police patrol cars. "Uh oh," he laughed, looking over his shoulder. "New comers." He stayed by the window though, to watch the scene, his curiosity getting the better of him - although he felt sympathetic, because he could remember the day he arrived, and how the situation was almost identical.

"Get off me!" Nancy debated against the police officer as she tried to yank her arm from his vice tight grip, still being pulled up the steps that led to a beautifully large home, a home that, without her current circumstance, would look completely normal. It was a rehabilitation center for troubled adolescents and young adults, and the last thing she wanted was to be stuck here. In her own opinion, although she was sure her old foster family - who were the ones who kicked her out in the first place - would disagree with her; Nancy was perfectly fine as she was. Frowning as the police officer rang the doorbell, completely ignoring her, Nancy rolled her eyes. "C'mon man, have some mercy." She frowned though, as an old, kind looking woman opened the door. "Oh, fucking fantastic." She murmured, looking over her shoulder as another police officer dragged a girl she knew as Amaya out of the car Nancy was yanked out of, another patrol car pulling up with girls they knew as Rebekah and Freya. The best thing about being under the protection services: when nobody wanted you for this long, you tended to get to know people in the same position.

Rebekah rolled her eyes as the back of the patrol car was opened, and she was lead out by a police officer. Looking at the house, Rebekah scoffed. "Don't touch me," she yanked her arm away from the police officer. "I'm not a fucking baby. I can walk." She held her head high as she did, not at all ashamed or embarrassed by her behaviour, smirking as she caught sight of Amaya being led out of the other car, Nancy already on the porch. "Fuck, you guys too?!" She teased loudly, aware of her obnoxious tones, walking slower as the police man tried to push her a little to make her go faster. "Oh, don't you worry sunshine, I've got all day." She told him with a grin, taking the steps as slow as she could.

Ashton laughed with Luke's accusation. "Oi, it did!" He debated with a grin that he couldn't push back. Ashton, although he never spoke about it, was proud of himself for how far he'd come in these past few years. He was significantly happier, and he'd made some real progress, all thanks to Mary and the Australian protection services. It felt good to laugh, to smile, considering that three years ago he couldn't even get out of bad, the days where Ashton would surrender himself to his depression and alcohol every single day. But now, he was here, he made good friends that he considered brothers, and he was in a much better place. Grinning with the thought, Ashton turned to look at Luke as Luke shifted to the window, standing to his own feet. "Oh?" He asked, peering out of the window, grinning as he saw the police cars. "Ah, the good old days. I remember when you, Michael and Calum were dragged here in one of those." He teased his friends, although he felt a tug of sympathy, because the turmoil was real, and it could sometimes scary. "We should head down, say hi."

Michael couldn’t help but to laugh as he listened to Ashton and Luke debate, shaking his head slightly. “I mean, whether it happened or not, it makes for great storytelling,” he joked lightly, grinning broadly in amusement, always finding it fun to just relax and hang out with his friends like this - and, to think, if it weren’t for this place, they might not have met at all. Back then, he hadn’t wanted to be here at all, but, really, this place had changed him for the better and he felt much more like himself, like he could be himself, and he couldn’t be more grateful for that, he couldn’t be more grateful to Mary for providing him a place where he felt like that. He blinked, though, shifting a bit so that he could move over to the window, staring out at the four girls who were being brought to the house. “Oi, they don’t look too happy,” he joked lightly, but he knew he’d been in their shoes when he first arrived. Hearing Ashton’s suggestion, he thought about it for a few moments before nodding. “Right, I’m in, let’s go.”

Calum shook his head as he listened to the others, grinning broadly, arching a brow. “Okay, but there are a few parts in your story that make zero sense,” he teased lightly and, admittedly, he’d been about to list off the things he’d noticed before blinking when Luke announced there were newcomers. Unable to help it, he made his way over to get a peek with the others, curious, because they hadn’t had anybody new come in in a long while, and he was curious about what was going on. Watching the girls, he could remember when he’d been brought in - he’d been in several bad situations, drinking and causing trouble, and this place had saved him from himself. “I’m in, too,” he decided with a broad grin before looking to the others, “In fact, last one down to say hi has to do everybody else’s chores tomorrow.” He smirked teasingly, though he doubted they’d actually go along with the idea, because it was mostly a joke, anyways. Still, he headed out of the room first, heading downstairs.

Amaya hissed out quietly as the officer grabbed her, pushing her towards the house, and she frowned deeply. “Oi, hands to yourself,” she scoffed, shaking out of his hold before she smirked, turning backwards to face him as she walked. “You can at least buy a lady a drink first before you get handsy.” She gave a noise, though, when the officer grabbed her by the arms and turned her to face forward, his grip a little more firm now. “Ow, dickhead! If I have bruises after this, I’m filing a complaint!” And, when his grip loosened a little, she laughed, but she grinned over at Rebekah. “Bekah! Sunshine! Fancy meeting you here! What’d they grab you for?” She grinned, winking teasingly but her gaze settled on the woman who answered the door.

Freya followed the officer’s lead, quietly at first, listening to the others quietly, though she could feel an anxiety bubble up in her the closer they got to the house. She’d been in too many foster care homes and, for a long time, she’d held onto hope in each one, even when every single one just sent her to another - up until the point she’d given up on hope and just ran away from each one before they could send her off, until she’d get caught and taken to a new one. When they neared the house, she quickly kicked her foot up against the outside of the house. “I’m not going in there!” she snapped angrily, “Fuck this place, fuck you, let me go!” And, when the officer moved them so that she couldn’t fight any further, she tried to struggle more as he forced her up the steps. “Fuck, asshole, can’t you hear?!”

Luke's jaw dropped with Calum's words. "There is no way in Hell I'm vacuuming this room." And with that, he darted out of the bedroom, shoving Calum out of the way with a laugh, being relentless in his actions. Luke slowed his pace, waiting for the others to catch up to give them a fair competition. He loved having moments like this, grateful that he'd met his four best friends in this house, and he was sure, with a little bit of encouragement, the girls that they were about to greet would do the same. Mary was an amazingly kind woman, who held a lot of love for the children she took in, and Luke hoped that he and the guys would be able to help a little bit with getting the girls settled in, because they seemed to be handfuls. Luke couldn't judge, he didn't know the situation.

Nancy rolled her eyes as the woman, who had introduced herself as Mary, spoke with the police officers, ensuring the girls would be well taken care of and would stay out of trouble. Nancy scoffed with that, ripping her arm from the grip of the police officer and folding her arms across her chest, ignoring the tears that built up in her eyes. Nancy never cried openly, it made her weak, it made her stupid, and she would never show anyone that side of her, that was something she promised a long time ago. "How sentimental." She commented quietly to the others, studying Freya carefully, because she understood.

Rebekah grinned with Amaya's response to her. "God damn Amaya, baby, it has been too long!" She hugged the other girl happily, putting on a show for the hell of it as she noticed others that occupied the foster home staring at them, not caring how she seemed to them. Hearing Amaya's question though, Rebekah grinned. "Oh, they grabbed me because you know, that little troublesome runaway tendency of mine gets me into trouble." She winked back. "Why are you in this vintage slammer?" She asked, smirking all the while as she leaned against the fence of the porch.

Ashton watched the situation outside with a worried glance, but laughed with Calum's words, quickly following Luke out of the bedroom, shoving Calum for the second time. "Hurry up, Mikey!" He called. "Calum's gotta do all the chores if he can't make it downstairs in time!" He grinned. Stopping as Luke did, at the top of the stairs, Ashton peered down to the scene by the front door, quickly turning to press a finger to his lips, not wanting their fun to break the seriousness of the situation, not wanting to be that asshole. Listening in quietly, Ashton arched an eyebrow.

Michael grinned with Ashton and Luke’s words, unable to help but laugh as he quickly climbed up to follow the others. And, following their leads, he pushed past Calum - carefully, of course, to avoid hurting his friend, but with enough force to at least slow him down. “Sorry, Cal, every man for himself in this one!” he called with a broad grin, “And you kind of brought this one on yourself!” Shaking his head with amusement, he quickly rushed off after the others before coming to a quick stop when the others stopped and he chewed on his lip, curious, and peered down the stairs to try to get a look at the newcomers.

“Oi!” Calum complained with a pout as he tried to regain his stance, his balance, after each time he was shoved. “Come on, mates, that’s hardly fair! And it clearly wasn’t every man for himself when every single one of you teamed up against me!” Regardless, though, he laughed as he quickly followed after his friends, hoping to catch up even a little, because, if he was going to lose, he at least didn’t want to lose by much. But, when he caught up to the others, he paused, looking down the stairs, shifting uncomfortably with seeing the police officers, but he couldn’t help but to wonder what exactly had brought the girls to this place in the first place.

Freya frowned deeply to herself as she stared at the old woman, but she clenched her jaw, refusing to speak now that she was stuck here. Ducking her head, she still tried to free herself from the police officer’s hold, because, if she was going to be stuck here, the last thing she wanted was to be manhandled, especially when they could see some of the others who lived there watching them. “This is stupid,” she muttered quietly, breaking her silence, huffing as she glared at the officer, “None of us want to be here.” But, as the cuffs were taken off of her, she was shoved into the house, and she stumbled a bit. “Dick.”

Amaya couldn’t help but laugh, not at all minding putting on a show, both for the police officers and the onlookers, and she smirked slightly. “Oh, Sunshine, how I’ve missed you,” she hummed out easily, tilting her head while the officer undid her cuffs, and she hugged Rebekah quickly before pulling back to hold up her hands, wiggling her fingers. “A bit of a five finger discount got me in this trouble.” She winked teasingly, grinning broadly, not at all bothered. “It was worth it, though.” And, laughing, she shook her head before shifting to step into the house, peering around, whistling out. “Damn, at least the place is nice. Who wants to place bets on how long we last before we’re kicked out?”

Ashton watched the situation with a silent curiosity. Each girl was so different from the other, he couldn't help but wonder what caused them to arrive here by a police controller. "Oh man," he spoke sympathetically - something Ashton rarely did, because Ashton was always cocky and overly confident, but his heart ached for the four of them, remembering how terrified he was on his first day here. Watching the situation, Ashton sat on a step to take a mental note of the girls, one girl in particular catching his eye, and she refused to speak and held a hard glare, and Ashton felt an unfamiliar need to protect her, but he grinned when she called the police officer a dick.

Luke grinned as he watched the scene unfold. Unless there was a newcomer, nothing excited ever happened. Luke sat on the step above Ashton's, gently nudging Ashton down another step so Luke could have some more leg room. He grinned though, seeing the little show that the one he was sure was called Amaya put on a show, amused by her act, and completely attracted by the beauty and her confidence, and Luke shifted on the step, wondering if it was wrong for him to think such thoughts about a girl he didn't know. But still, hearing her reasoning for being brought here, Luke chuckled, shaking his head.

Nancy stayed silent, sticking close to Freya as she looked around, although keeping her head ducked slightly. She studied the others that already lived with Mary, seeing all the attention on them, and just wishing, more than anything, that the ground would swallow her up and she could get away from this god awful house and this god awful situation. As Mary spoke to the last remaining officer, Nancy shifted on her feet, rolling her eyes.

Rebekah grinned at Amaya, shaking her head. "Damn, did you get me something?" She nudged Amaya with a grin, not even bothering to quieten herself down just for the sake of good behaviour as her cuffs were undone and she was shoved inside. "Hey!" She snapped. "I'm a fuckin' lady, asshole!" She looked to the officer with a frown. "Who do you even think you are?" She was shoved further into the house, and she grinned, kicking the front door closed behind her once she saw the other girls were in, right in the face of one of the officers, shaking her head. "Annoying asshole."

Michael had managed to get to the others before Calum could and, shifting, he quickly sat down next to Ashton, too curious about everything to ignore it. His eyes ran over the group quietly, his curiosity sparking all the more, though his focus easily fell on the girl with her head ducked, his heart aching for her. She looked so out of place, so upset, and he wanted, more than anything, to go down and assure her that everything would be okay, that she was safe there. But he held back, not wanting to overstep any boundaries, especially when Mary had still been talking to the officers. “I wanna meet them,” he admitted quietly, though there was really only one of them that he was interested in meeting.

Calum pouted when he’d discovered that he’d gotten to the others last and, nudging Luke out of the way, he sat next to his friend. “Jerks,” he muttered quietly, making a face at the thought of having to do all the chores, but his gaze went to the group of girls downstairs and, watching intently, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his attention easily gravitating towards one of the more talkative girls, and he grinned in amusement. “So do I,” he agreed to Michael’s words, nodding slightly, though his gaze never left the girl as he wondered if she would enjoy being here. She didn’t seem too happy about it, but he hoped that she would give it a chance, because he wanted the chance to get to know her.

Freya peered over at Nancy for a moment, though her gaze went to Rebekah and Amaya, wishing they could just get out of there before things got too complicated. Shifting uncomfortably, her upset glare didn’t ease up and she listened to Mary and the officers while they talked, though she untensed just a little when Rebekah closed the door, breathing out quietly. Even with the door closed, she didn’t feel comfortable, she didn’t want to be there.

Amaya pouted slightly, though jokingly, to Rebekah’s question. “I had a cute beanie picked out for you, but this asshole took it,” she complained in a whine, huffing as she motioned to the officer who had brought her. When Rebekah kicked the door closed, though, she grinned slightly, folding her arms across her chest now that her hands were free. “Honestly, you’d think they would learn by now.” Rolling her eyes slightly, she peered around a bit, seeing that they weren’t alone, though she moved over closer to Nancy and Freya, her and Rebekah having always been protective of the two. “Chins up, babes,” she whispered, offering a small smile before she winked, “We’ll be just fine. We always are.”

Ashton grinned at Michael as he joined him on the stairs, meaning that Calum had lost the race. "Perfect." He murmured, but soon focused his attention back on the scenario at the bottom of the stairs, his curiosity too much to ignore. He studied each individual girl, and decided they must of met before, maybe even placed together at some point before today, they seemed to be comfortable around each other. But, when his gaze landed on a beautiful young woman, shifting uncomfortably and clearly wishing she could be anywhere else at that moment, Ashton couldn't help the rush of sympathy that flowed through him. Moving to a new situation wasn't easy, and he knew, more than anyone, that adjusting wasn't an easy task. "Me too." He agreed with Michael's words, his eyes lingering on Freya for a long moment, wondering what her name was, what her story was. All Ashton knew, for certain, was that he wanted to form a friendship with her, let her know that when she was with Mary, when she was with him, she would be safe.

Luke shifted over for Calum, smirking at the boy before turning his focus back onto the group of newcomers, watching intently as his elbow rested on his knee, his chin resting in his hand. Deciding to try to memorise the faces, Luke was surprised when one of the most talkative, the beauty who kept insulting the police officer who had her detained, captured his attention so vividly that he couldn't tear his eyes from her, and Luke wondered, was this all an act, or was she genuinely carefree about everything she seemed to be going through? Toying with his lip ring, Luke leaned back against Michael's knees. "They're certainly a lively bunch." Luke commented with a grin, amused by the girl's attitude, finding himself completely entranced by her, finding himself wanting to get to know her. As the police officers began to leave though, and the other kids under Mary's care filtered away from the situation, Luke looked to his friends. "We should go and say hi."

Nancy rested a hand on Freya's shoulder, only feeling like she was free to relax without the police officers there, without all eyes on the four of them. Not wanting to be there, Nancy looked to the others, trying to listen to the conversation that the officer and Mary were having, but unable to focus. "At least this place will keep us warm in the winter." She admitted quietly to Freya, looking to one of her best friends with a weak smile, and as much as Nancy wished to herself that she had a consistent home, she tried to remain optimistic that she could be here for a while - nobody seemed to want her, anyway.

Rebekah grinned as she retracted herself away from the door. "Hi-yah!" She laughed in an attempt to make her friends laugh, standing, once more, by Amaya's side, taking a protective stance beside Nancy and Freya, almost silently daring for anyone to make a comment about either of them. Placing an arm around Amaya, and an arm around Freya, Rebekah smiled, trying to be as annoyingly happy as she could. "This isn't the first time we've done this." Rebekah reminded quietly, looking to her friends with a smile. "We've been through worst together, we've got this." She grinned, squeezing Amaya gently, mentally thanking every star in the sky when the initial interest other housemates had in them seemed to fizzle out. "Thank God," Rebekah spoke, loud enough for people to hear. "I don't feel like a zoo animal anymore."

Mary showed the last officer to the door, closing the door behind him before turning to the girls. "Welcome home, ladies." She smiled gently. "You have a shared bedroom, third door to the right at the top of the stairs." She indicated to the stairs. "Dinner isn't ready yet, but it will be soon, so you're free to explore and get to know others."

Michael found himself still watching Nancy, curious about her, especially when she seemed so nervous, and she didn’t seem too interested in talking. He wondered what had happened to her prior to coming here for her to seem so… Unsure. He knew it wouldn’t be wise to outright ask something like that, though, it would seem rude. He could at least let her know that he was willing to listen, though, if she was ever willing to talk about it, if she ever felt like she needed somebody to talk to, somebody to listen. “Yeah, we should definitely go say hi,” he decided with a nod, moving to stand up to head down now that the cops had left, figuring this was as good as an opportunity as any to go talk to the girl, to introduce himself, to form some kind of connection.

Calum watched Rebekah with amusement, chuckling quietly with her actions, though he knew that he likely shouldn’t encourage such behavior - the last thing he or anybody else here wanted was to cause extra problems for Mary, and this group seemed rambunctious, he hoped Mary could handle them. At the very least, he was sure he and his friends would try their best to help. “Yeah, let’s go,” he agreed with his friends, shifting to stand, nudging his friends to try to get them to stand as well before he made his way down, wanting to meet Rebekah formally, wanting her to see that she could find a home here if she gave it a chance.

Freya offered a small nod in response to Nancy, trying to look on the bright side of all of this, but she struggled with it. There was no guarantee they’d get to stay through the winter, after all - they could very well be kicked out of the house by the end of the week. It wouldn’t be the first time. “I guess,” she murmured anyway, not wanting to seem too pessimistic to her friends, or to point out how many times they’d had to deal with these problems, or to point out flaws in any hopes they might have here.

Amaya peered around, watching those around them, her arms folded over her chest. She found herself doing the same thing she always did: mapping out escape routes if things got bad and they needed to run, or mapping out exits or the nights they wanted to sneak out and just be free. She stuck close to the others, keeping a protective eye on Freya and Nancy. “God, this place is stifling,” she muttered, rolling her eyes, though she frowned slightly when she heard Mary talk, and she peered over at the woman for a moment. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here and assume this is ‘home’ to any of us. We’ve been through this enough times to know how it all works.”

Nancy watched the police car drive from the property and she exhaled with relief. "Thank god they're gone." Nancy murmured to Freya, before pulling away from her best friend. Listening to Amaya talk, Nancy offered her a shy, gentle smile, wanting to encourage the girls she'd considered sisters that they belonged to themselves and no one else, they were the property of themselves, not child protection services, not Mary, not the police - just them. Twisting her hair into a braid, Nancy looked around, taking in the little trinkets, frowning as she felt a presence beside her. Turning her attention to the person, Nancy saw a tall, lanky boy with colourful hair, and Nancy offered him a stiff smile.

Ashton walked down the stairs with confidence, hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Mary!" Ashton called in a sing song tone, throwing his arm around the older woman with a dimpled grin. "Hi, you!" Ashton reached to press a kiss to his mother figure's cheek. "Who do we have here?" Ashton asked, studying the girls that were so used to being together they seemed unable to let anyone else in - Ashton was certain he would break down some walls during their stay. "A pretty bunch, aren't we?" Ashton asked, although his hazel gaze fell to the shyest blonde girl. "I'm Ashton." He introduced, his attention still upon the one he was certain had been called Freya - although he couldn't be too sure. "You lot will have fun here, I promise." Ashton smiled, squeezing around Mary. "Mary here is the best cook - her casserole is to die for!" And laughing as Mary swatted at him playfully, Ashton approached Freya with a grin.

Rebekah studied the room carefully, going to Amaya. "Got everything mapped yet?" She murmured, looking to Ashton's obnoxious little show with a raised eyebrow, half amused and half annoyed with the boy and the sound of his overly happy voice. "God, I wanna hit him." Rebekah murmured, pulling away from Amaya to sit on a chair, closing her eyes to let her guard down and breathe for a moment, because she could only do so much. It was nice to have a place to relax, but no place was ever permanent for them. The four of them had each other, and that was it, there was never anyone who stayed, never anyone who wanted to look past the hatred and the high walls. This place would be no different. The only comfort the place provided was that it smelled like cinnamon and Mary tried her best - she'd give up soon.

Luke was the last one down the stairs, but he was happy to just watch from the sidelines for a moment as he watched Amaya, guarded and angry at the world. She'd caught his interest in a way he couldn't quite describe, and he wanted to climb those walls and find whatever it was Amaya kept within. "Hey there," Luke spoke softly, leaning against the wall beside Amaya, watching how she stayed tense, how her words remained sharp, how she stayed uninterested. "I'm uh, I'm Luke. I've been here a while." Luke shrugged. "I think you'll like it here." He offered a dimpled smile then. "There's plenty of do, there's some horses in the back and you definitely don't care but hey, I thought I'd try." Luke laughed nervously.

Michael grinned as he joined the others, rolling his eyes with amusement at Ashton’s greeting, hopeful the girls wouldn’t be put off by it. Still, his gaze went to Nancy and he offered a small smile. “He’s not wrong, at least,” he mentioned, his words gentle, because he wanted the girls - but especially Nancy - to feel safe here, to feel like they had a home here. Grinning with the thought, he shrugged slightly. “It’ll feel like home before you know it. And Mary’s the best in general, not just with her cooking.” He grinned over at Mary, but his attention fell back to Nancy. “Just let us know if any of you need anything, ever.”

Freya looked over when Ashton came down, blinking with surprise at how… Energetic he was. She wasn’t used to people being so happy, especially upon meeting her and her friends. It shocked her, to say the least. When Ashton’s attention fell onto her, though, she quickly ducked her head, looking away, but listened intently to what he was saying. She wasn’t sure she believed him, though - and even if he was right, it didn’t mean Mary would want them around in the end. She heard Ashton moving closer to her, though, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “I… Think I need some rest,” she murmured.

Calum shook his head at Ashton’s behavior but smiled as he approached the girls, hoping to make things easier for them somehow, though his focus was very clearly Rebekah - as proven by the fact that he seemed to gravitate towards her immediately, walking right up to her. “Hi there,” he greeted before he held his hand out to a grin. “I’m Calum. It’s great to have you here.” And he really meant that, especially when he already wanted to get to know this girl; he already wanted her to become a part of his life. But he tried not to think too much about it, because he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. “Welcome to the house. If you want, I could show you around, maybe?”

Amaya nodded slightly when she heard Rebekah’s question. “For the most part,” she murmured in response, “Gonna have to do a walkthrough to know the distances between everything, though.” Her attention was torn from Rebekah, though, when Luke came over, and she arched a brow as he started talking after he leaned against the wall beside her. Snorting, she did her best to ignore him and looked around to take in everything, to mentally keep track of it all, but she sighed when he kept talking. “Trust me, we won’t like it here,” she said simply, “We’ll be kicked out by the weekend.” Or they’d just leave.