Sam had stayed with us, for two more days, before Peter told us that Eli would be back.

Eli lived by himself, and was looking a for a new roommate.  

Obviously, Sam didn't have anywhere to live, his parents had just left.  I still hadn't gotten the story out of him.  But Eli had gladly taken up the offer on rooming with Sam.

I think we were all a little more hopeful then.  
Sam's bruises and cuts were not completely healed, but some of the swelling had gone down.

I had stayed with Sam, but now, it was time to go back to the streets.  

It had been a pretty long time since then, but now, I had a bike, clothes, books.  Stuff.  Stuff I could call my own.

"My man!  Welcome to the house!"  Eli said, walking into the flat.

"Hey," Sam said.  "Sorry for-"

"Nah, nah, don't you worry," Eli laughed.

Sam smiled a little.  

"I've heard about you at school.  Aren't you rich as f-" 

"Not anymore," Peter interrupted, shooting Eli a look.  He closed his mouth.

They had definitely talked before this about Sam.

"Shall we go?"  Peter asked me, causing me to gather my things.  "Your bike is in my trunk." 

I nodded.

We walked out the door, huffing at the cold December air.  

"It's almost Christmas," Peter said.  "We're having a small party.  Julie's invited.  Eli's invited.  Sam too.  And a few others."  

Julie.  

We had avoided each other for a long time.  I was pretty sure that our friendship was over.  Which stinked.    

"When is it?" I asked.

"It's in 2 days.  I would have told you earli-" Peter explained.

"I'll go."  I said, pulling the bicycle out.

Peter came over to help me.  "Really?"

I smiled at him, giving him my answer silently.

Peter gave me a side hug.  "You want a ride to the shelter?  You could come stay with us."  

I shook my head.  "No, I'm fine.  See you on Monday, Maddens.  Have a nice weekend."  

Peter shook his head at me, grinning.  "See you," 

He tugged at the coat he had gifted me, before stumbling into the drivers seat of his car.

He gave me a little wave.  

I didn't dare wave back.  

I hopped onto the bicycle and started off to find a suitable place to sleep.

It was the weekend, which meant two days of nothing.  

My back ached from the hard concrete ground, my head throbbing from my makeshift backpack pillow.  

I looked around, finding that I was relatively close to Julie's house.

Should I?  I mean, at least I should try to talk to her.

I found my feet taking myself to Julie's neighborhood.  I bit my lip, my cheeks reddened from the cold.  

I rang her doorbell, shivering in to cold.  

Her dad opened the door.   "Oh, hi..."

"Charlotte."  I answered.

"Hello Charlotte."  he said.  "Julie is in her room." 

His eyes blazed with warmth, as if Julie didn't tell her father about the appearance that I had uncovered when I had come back to school.

The stairs creaked s I walked up.  Her door was open, and she was tapping away at her cellphone.

"Hi Julie."  I said.

Her head snapped towards me.  "Charlotte?  What are you doing here?"  

"I came to apologize.  And to give these back."  I shoved the clothes and backpack at her.

Julie stood up, her eyes watering.  "No, no, keep them.  I'm sorry.  I was scared, Charlotte.  Peter told me.  Peter told me-" 

I froze.  "Peter told you?" 

She nodded.  "I feel so bad for you.  Your parents, you were tor-"  

"Stop." I said, the backpack dropping out of my loose hands.  

"He told you?"  I asked.

She nodded hesitantly.  

I shook my head.  "I'm not mad at you, not mad."  

She looked reassured.

And as if we hadn't been talking for the past few weeks, she started to talk as always.  

"Are you going to Peter's party?  I mean, you HAVE TO!"  she said excited.

I frowned at the sound of Peter.  

He told. 

I had trusted him.

But maybe. 

Maybe I could mess with him a little.

It was no secret he felt something for me.  

I was no blind mouse.  

"I'm going."  I told Julie, a smile growing on my face.

"Ok, this dress totally works with your eyes."  Julie said, holding up a light ice blue dress

Julie had promised to lend me a dress for the party, and I was kind of excited.

Or very excited.

I put on the dress, not liking how my arms and legs were exposed.  

My scars.

Julie's eyes scanned over me. 

"You know, you have more curves than I thought!" she blurted.  "Peter is going to be so mad!"

I started to laugh.   I had told Julie everything, and she seemed to hate Peter more than I did.

I was a thin girl. No joke.  Not one piece of fat on me.  

The dress hung, hanging lower than I would have liked, ending shorter than I was comfortable with.

But damn, I did look better than I usually did.

Julie had curled my hair, leaving my face free of any makeup except for some mascara.

I checked myself out in the mirror.  I didn't look like the goddess Julie was, but I did look better than I pegged myself to be.

And how Peter usually saw me.

A piece of gossip.

The party was at a small flat, free of any parents.  

Punch was displayed in jugs, and people were dancing to Christmas music.

Peter spotted us, walking over to us.  

His eyes ran over my body.

"Char, you look great."  he said.

I ignored him.

He shot a look at Julie, who was avoiding his eyes.

"Well, um- I'm going to go have some punch."  Peter said, disappearing into the crowd.

I had done this plenty.  

I mean to get food, water, you have to get creative.

I didn't always go all the way, but some flirting- I'm a pro.

Trevor.  

His hair was slicked with gel, and I cringed at the sight at him.

But it would make Peter mad.

I grinned to myself, motioning Julie.

She flashed me a thumbs up, with a look that screamed, Be careful!

I walked over to Trevor, making sure Peter was unoccupied.

"Hi Trevor."  

Trevor looked surprised to see me.

"Oh, you came to apologize for breaking my heart?" he asked, looking...

Drunk?

There was no alcohol at this party.

But I noticed a small bottle in his hand. Gross.

"Yea..." I whispered into his ear, feeling Peter's gaze falling on me.

I felt Trevor start to smirk.

But before Trevor could say anything, a voice interrupted.

"Charlotte, is he bothering you?" Peter told me, pulling my arm.

"No, not at all," I replied, shaking my arm out of his grasp.

Trevor grinned. "Get lost, it's the hottie and me."
Hottie? Must be the dress.

Peter scoffed. "Charlotte, we're leaving."

I shook my head. "Are you my mother or something?"

Peter's eyes widened. "You don-"

I stopped him, before he could say anything that could me make me angrier. "You can leave."

Peter opened his mouth, but said nothing. He turned on his heel and left.

Trevor looked down at me. He had this sleazy smile that made me want to barf. His hands wrapped around my waist, but I pushed them off, out of instinct.

Memories flurried back, but I fought them.

"Trevor, I need to use the bathroom." I said, pushing away.
He nodded, sipping out of his punch cup. I slid away, looking for the "bathroom."

I felt a hand wrap around my wrist.

"Are you mad at me or something?" Peter asked me, his eyes searching for answers.

"No, I'm not mad. Not mad at all," I said, trying to break free.

"You are." Peter argued.

I tugged hard, my wrist falling through Peter's hand.

"Well, I'm so happy you decided to tell Julie all of my secrets. I'm so glad that you decided to use me as gossip material." I said, jabbing a finger in his chest.

"I didn't mean no harm. I just- Julie needed an explanation!" Peter said, raising his hands.

"But you didn't even ask ME? Peter, you need better excuses. So far, all of them are dumb." I said, jerking my finger away.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte. I didn't mean to hurt you. I promise. It's the last thing I'd do! Just- please. I needed someone to tell. And it just made sense at the time!" Peter defended.

I laughed. "It made sense."

Peter tried to nod. "I'm sorry."

Like sorry meant anything.

I walked away from him, finding the nearest exit near me.

But another person stopped me. Julie.

"How'd it go?" Julie asked.

"Went well. Won't be seeing that dirtbag anytime soon. I'm just another piece of entertainment for him."

Julie was silent for a second.

"Well, I think maybe you should let it go. I mean, I would find out in a matter of time. Plus, he has this adorable crush on you! Just let it go now! You've gotten your revenge!" Julie shrugged.

I thought it over. Maybe I had been a little harsh. A little.  I mean, Julie and I might not be here if he hadn't told her.

I decided to wait outside for him. Going back might mean running into Trevor.

A girl can never have too much mood swings. No one will understand them, except for the person going through them.

I ended up staying and waiting for over two hours. But finally, Peter and Eli stumbled out.

They were laughing and talking about something. Eli's hair was mussed, Peter's clothes wrinkled. Peter looked a little frustrated, but nonetheless, looked like he had fun. The party was still going strong, though. The music thumped through my heart, but the sounds quieted when the door was closed.

Eli spotted me and instantly left. Peter probably told him.

But Peter walked over to me. "Charlotte? What are you doing waiting here? It's like below zero!"

I was cold. I tugged the jacket closer around my body, huffing. Clouds of air blew out of my mouth.

"I--I wanted to apologize. I mean, you've given me everything you need, you've- What I mean is that I understand. Just I was- I'm on my period, OK?" I started to blush. 

Peter turned bright red. "I was going to say sorry anyway. I didn't mean any harm. Just can we just forget everything that happened?"

"Like anything happened," I said. "I overreact too much."

"I mean, what were you thinking, flirting with Trevor? Just to get me? Trevor's gonna be bothering you for the rest of the freaking year!" Peter joked.

I groaned loudly. "Next time, you warn me."

Eli walked over to us. "I'm guessing you lovebirds have made up."

Peter and I shrugged.
"I'm gonna go-" I said, being careful to not spill anything in front of Eli.

"You want a ride?" Peter asked.

"No, I'm good." I replied.

I hopped onto the bicycle, that was parked into the rack and wheeled off. My dress was threatening to rip, but I tried to be careful. I had to return this to Julie.

Off to Julie's house.

"Dude, she totally likes you!" Eli squealed.

"Bro, she loathes me." I groaned. "I messed everything up!"

"What do they say? Hate is the same as love!" Eli swooned.

"I've never heard that in my entire life." I replied to him, focusing on the road ahead of me.

"Well, I know you like her." Eli said, looking at me.

I wanted to say something, but I really couldn't. I-

I liked her?

I mean, she was just so similar to me. We understood each other. She was smart. Not to mention, she was really pretty.

"She is really hot," Eli remarked.

"Seriously." I deadpanned.

Eli shrugged. "But I concur. You messed things up. Telling a gossip girl? I get that she's Char's friend, and that you bumped into her at the cafe, but learn to keep your stupid mouth shut, Maddens!"

I nodded, feeling guilty. What was I thinking?

"You should invite her over for Christmas. I bet she has nowhere to go." Eli said.

I had said a little something to Eli about Charlotte, just that she had a worse past than me.

I guess I am a loudmouth.

But just as I was going to drop Eli off, my jaw dropped.

Eli noticed it too. "Hey, isn't that Charlotte?"

And there was Charlotte.

She was lying down in a dusk alleyway, her backpack under her head. Her bicycle was tucked behind her.  Her dress was gone, replaced with a sweater.

Like Cinderella.  Gone at midnight.  Or 2 am.