Bad Girl, Bad Boy...Could Only Mean Trouble

The table was already set for dinner, so without another word they all sat down. Toni was hardly surprised when Nathan sat down with them. She really didn't know what was up with him lately, but she prefered it when they hated each other and fought all the time. They all ate in silence for the first couple of minutes before Charlie broke the silence by clearing her throat.

"Um...what's the plan for tomorrow?" She asked quietly.

Toni looked around before settling her stare on her brother. He seemed to squirm under her gaze as he looked anywhere but at her. She knew immediately that he was hiding something.

"I...I don't know yet...." He started to say.

"Oh, stop right there Andrue. What are you trying to hide?" Toni asked him, glaring.

"Nothing! Why would you think I'm trying to hide something?" Andrue asked with false indignation.

"Please, your my brother. Your lieing through your teeth and your horrible at it." Toni sighed.

Andrue sighed. "Mom and Dad are coming to see you. After all the recent drama being on the TV, they're questioning my ability to talk care of you." He muttered the last part as he glared at the table.

Toni dropped her burger, staring at him in horror as Charlie slowly set hers down. Nathan looked between the three of them, not really understanding what the problem was. Suddenly Toni stood and back away from the table.

"They...they can't do that. You know I hate it there....I won't go back there. You know why I left...and you gonna let them come take me back?!" Toni yelled, half in hysterics as she backed towards the stairs.

Andrue stood just as quickly, trying to tell her that she was wrong, he wouldn't let them take her, but she shook her head and ran up the stairs to her room. He sat back down slowly and put his head in his hand. Charlie reached out and put her hand on his shoulder soothingly.

"Whats the problem with your parents?" Nathan asked.

Andrue hesitated before explaining. "They were a foster home who adopted us when we were younger. Our father used to lock himself in a room alone with Toni. I don't know what went on in there and I haven't asked, but it's the main reason Toni came to live with me when I left. I couldn't leave her there."

"I didn't know that. you two are adopted? why didn't you tell me?" Charlie asked, sounding hurt.

"I didn't think it was of any importance. it doesn't really affect our lives now. Does it change anything between us?" He asked.

"No...but it's still something I would have liked to have known." Charlie pouted, crossing her arms over he chest.

"Well, I'm sorry. Right now I need to think about how to get to my sister. best bet is that she has herself locked in her room right now and I don't know if she'll listen to me if I try to talk to her."

Nathan had been sitting quietly, listening the entire time, and now he got up and moved towards the stairs. Andrue started to ask him what he was doing, but then decided to just let him see where he could get with his sister.

Toni had reached her room and indeed locked himself inside of it. She had sat at the computer desk for a while trying to regain her breathing before she opened a new word document and started writing a new poem. She had lied to Nathan when she had said that it was a habit she had quit, but she didn't feel like it was anything he had a right to know about.

Writing and drawing were the only things that kept her sane and that meant not having other people reading or seeing them. She was starting to open up some with her artwork, but the poems would stay private for as long as she could keep them that way.

She had her music up so loud that she didn't hear anyone knocking on the door until the third or fourth time. slowly, she walked towards the door and wondered whether it was her brother or Charlie who had come to try and talk to her. She didn't expect to find Nathan standing on the other side of the door with a blank expression.

"Can I come in?" He asked.

Toni nodded and moved out of the way. She left the door open and walked back to the computer, turning to music down before she saved the document and turned to face Nathan. They sat and stared at each other for a while before she finally broke that silence.

"What do you want?" She asked, not trying to be rude, but sounding like it anyways.

"To talk about your parents." He said.

Toni stiffened. "I don't want to talk about them." She turned away from him.

"I was adopted too."

She froze. That was not what she had expected to hear. she slowly turned and looked at him. He was leaning forward on her bed, his elbows resting on his knees as he looked out her window.

"I'm not blood-related to Evan...or Matt for that matter. My parents died when I was five in a car accident. that was the first time I was in a foster home....but certainly not the last. I jumped from house to house as the couples decided that I was too much trouble time and time again. Finally I came to Evan's family and that was where I stayed. He's the one whose actually related to Matt." He turned and looked at her suddenly.

Toni stared at him in shock. She had not expected any of that. She also didn't understand why he had felt the need to tell her. She had guessed that Andrue told them about being adopted, but did Nathan think that his story would get her to suddenly feel the need to spill hers? He was going to be disappointed.

"I'm so sorry. No one should have to go through that...." She trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

He nodded his thanks and went back to staring out the window. She stared at him for a while longer before standing and walking to the bookshelf that sat on the other side of the room. She stood there for a minute, reading but not really seeing the titles of the books.

"You know, Andrue doesn't plan to let them take you. He's gonna fight them with all he's got." Nathan had stood and followed her to the bookshelf.

"I know. I just...I can't go back there. If they decided to go to court, he'll lose. He doesn't have the kind of money it would take to get a decent lawyer. I can't go back with them if they decide they want me, but he can't do anything to keep me here." Toni told him softly, putting her head down on the shelf in front of her.

She jumped when she felt his arms wrap around her in a hug. At first she was tense, and then she relaxed. They stood like that, him hugging her from behind, until they heard someone coming up the stairs. They quickly pulled apart and Toni wiped her face to make sure that she hadn't started crying.

Nathan stood awkwardly by her bed as Toni tried to compose herself. Eventually she turned to him and smiled softly before walking to the door to see who had been coming up the stairs. her brother stood at the top of them, looking as if he was bracing himself for something that he really didn't want to do.

"I'm sorry." She told him, obviously startling him.

She moved towards him and pulled him into a hug before he had a chance to say anything. he hesitantly hugged her back, looking over at Nathan questionably. he shrugged an walked past the two of them. he nodded at Charlie before grabbing his coat and walking straight out the front door without another word.