you need me like a bad habit.

[{sa mm ie}.]

Sammie walked slowly out of the school, and headed for the back. It was true, he was cutting geometry, but, the way he saw it, his grade was good enough to carry him for a few days. The sun was shining bright and clear in the cloudless sky. It was going to get hot.

His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, and Sam answered it without hesitation. "Hey baby." He played with his pink and yellow tie.

"Of course I stopped smoking." With a menacing smile, he pulled a cigarette put of his pocket. Shaylin didn't need to know any different.

Sam and Shay had been together for 2 years straight. The attraction on his end was waning a little bit lately though; only because he hadn't seen her for so long. The closest he had been to her within the last two weeks was when she came to visit Taryn, and even then, he only got a glimpse of her.

"Are you listening?" Her voice crackled on the line. "S-m! C- you he-r -e?'

Yes. He hoped the line would fuck up. "I'm losing you, Shay. Call me later." Click.

[.t a r y n ! !]

Taryn walked along through the green grass outside. It was dying in various places and looked very tacky. She knew she shouldn't be skipping since school had never been one of her strong points, but this was P.E. and she could care less. She smiled when she spotted her best friend Sammie. She started to walk over to join him, but noticed he was on the phone and hesitated. She hid behind the corner of the school, watching him engage in his conversation.

"I wonder who he's talking to?" she thought to herself. She waited until he ended the call and ran over to him joyfully.

"Hey cutie-face, what's up?" she asked with a smile on her face.

[{sa mm ie}.]

Sam grinned and turned around. "Skipping P.E. again, princess? Tsk tsk."

Taryn and Samuel had been best friends since the 8th grade. He could even remember thier first meeting. It was on the third dya of school, in band. Sam was playing the saxophone. Badly, he would later say, and Taryn was really struggling to get any kind of noise out of a flute.

Sammie sat down where he stood, on a very long patch of dry grass. "Have you talked to your sister lately, Ren? She just called me, but the line broke." He looked down at his small hands, and saw the cigarette he held. Opps.

Lighting up, he took a deep drag and closed his eyes. Shay wasnt the only one that disapproved of his smoking. Taryn wasnt very fond of it either. At least, he reasoned with himself, its not as bad as it used to be.

[.t a r y n ! !]

"Yes, don't I always?" She giggled, "You know I hate athletics with a passion."

She thought about his other question for a few seconds before she replied to it, "Hmm...I think the last time I talked to her was when she visited me."

She was always jealous of her sister. It seemed like she was always excelling Taryn in everything. Taryn and Shaylin were twins, but the weren't identical. Taryn was especially envious of her sisters good looks. She always had guys chasing after her, even before she reached puberty and gained certain 'features' that Taryn was lacking quite a bit. But what she hated the most about her sister was that she had him.

"Are you gonna call her back soon? She might get mad if you don't." Taryn said, hoping his answer would be no.

[{sa mm ie}.]

Sammie shrugged. "I dunno when I'll call her back. She sounded really pissed off." The story of thier whole relationship. Shaylin was really touchy most of the time, and she would get mad at Sam so easily. It was insane. Sometimes, though, he would do something on purpose to get her pissed.

He layed on his back, resting his hands under his head. "You know what I regret? Not getting to see the look on Shay's face when your parents told her what we did... I bet it was priceless." She hadnt spoken to Sammie for about a month after he was caught. The call he recieved from her had been one of the first in weeks.

He blew a cloud of smoke, enjoying the warm sunshine on his face. "So, how are you enjoying this heavenly place, princess?"

[.t a r y n ! !]

"Well, it's better than being stuck at home. " She stated with disgust, thinking about her average suburbia family. The thought of house wives wearing pearls while vacuuming and unscathed white picket fences made sick to her stomach.

"I bet she turned as white as a ghost when she found out. She's probably really pissed about." A dorky smile spread across her face at the thought of it. She covered her mouth, attemting to stifle a giggled.

[Karei Sanders]

Karei was, needless to say, depressed and pissed off. She walked along, her check ook in her hand as she blanced her checks. I only have a couple hundred dollars....damn... She thought, grumbling in an annoyed manner as she placed her check book back into one of the pockets of her boyish jeans. Her long, calloused fingers rubbed her temples lightly, brushing against the various scars she had. She wasn't really skpping, now. It was art. Who needs art? No one. Besides, she had a lot of more important things to do. Like finding a way to pay off her debts and get enough money to buy her horse back and still have money left over to...well...live.

''Damn.''

She murmered as she kicked a rock sharply. She shuddered slightly she brushed her messy hair to the side. She noticed two other students nearby and studied them for a moment, but other than that didn't pay them much attention. Well, not yet at least.

[{sa mm ie}.]

Sammie's attention flickered, thinking about Shay. In reality, he was really just tired of her. She was too clingy, and her expectations were far too high. Sometimes he felt inferior to her. The dead grass crunched softly as another girl walked back behind the school. Sam didnt recognize her, but who knew? Maybe Taryn did. He toyed with the idea of speaking to her, when his phone rang again.

"Hello? Oh. Hi."

Sam didnt enjoy talking to his father very much. At all. His mother was the prefered parent in his mind. "No, I dont smoke anymore. Were not allowed to have like. anything in this hell hole."

His father laughed coldly across the line. He really hated him. "How's mom? And Orla?"
No answer. "Dad?"

"You broke you mothers heart when you left, Samuel. And your sister thinks she made you leave." Sam hated his father.

[Karei Sanders]

Karei stopped walking when she heard the male speaking. It wasn't to the girl, though. She did eavesdrop, yes, but mostly because of boredom. "How's mom? And Orla?" She heard him ask into the phone, followed by "Dad?" She rubbed her arm lightly, feeling a bit homesick. She knew her parents were only trying to help her...but she wanted to do things on her own. That's why she ran away. And she couldn't bear her parents using her horse and her love for horses as a way to punish her.

She stopped walking, her hazel-ish eyes faced toward the distant horizon. She could hear a muffled voice on the other end of the phone, but couldn't make out any words. Stop eavesdropping, you moron. It's none of your business. She thought, shaking her head a bit.

[.t a r y n ! !]

A concerned look crossed Taryn's face when she realized who Sammie was now chatting with. She knew how much he hated his father and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Her father never really approved of their friendship, but they could care less.

"You broke you mothers heart when you left, Samuel. And your sister thinks she made you leave." It was slightly muffled, but she could hear it as clearly as was needed to comprehend it. She frowned at the remark and nearly snatched the cell phone from Sammie to give his father a piece of her mind. She quickly rethought it though. her attention shifted when she spotted a girl approaching them.

"Um, hi," She said, giving the best smile she could considering Sammie's situation, 'what's your name, hun?"

[Karei Sanders]

Karei blinked, snapping out of her small daze. She looked over at the girl who addressed her. She blinked again, this time in a more curious manner.
''Karei.''
She replied shortly. No arrogance. No 'Kar for short' added in. She just didn't feel like talking much. If I fall into depression again I swear I'll kill something. She thought with a sigh, brushing her hand through her hair. Maybe biological depression isn't curable. She added mentally with a frown. She really thought she cured it. Until her parents threatened to sell her horse and she ran away because they wouldn't let her do anything on her own. Did it matter, really? Not anymore. She had new problems. Financial problems.

[.t a r y n ! !]

"My name is Taryn. You can call me Ren or Taryn, I don't mind either one. Oh, and this is Sammie" she stated with a warm smile, pointing to the boy sitting next to her.

An akward silence fell over them and Taryn felt obliged to break the silence. Thinking quickly she said, "Um, you can join us if you'd like."

[{sa mm ie}.]

Sammie closed his phone. If his father only called him to be an ass, then he wasn't going to listen to him. And, in all reality, he wasn't Sammie's real father. He had married Sam's mom before he was born, and adopted him. But even when he grew up thinking him to be his dad, they never got along.

Other than himself and his mom, no one knew about Samuel's parents. Not even Taryn.

he looked up when he heard Ren talking to someone. He had only been at Brookhaven for a few weeks, and he didn't recognize the girl.

[.t a r y n ! !]

Taryn sat cross-legged on the grass, waiting for the girl's reply. She began to hum a little tune, shifting her gaze from Sammie to Karei.