Author's Note- Please, please, please don't kill me for not updating. I'm going to really try and update this more often. I promise. And I think that I'm going to continue this story in third person. So on we go with the long over due update :)

Chapter 4

Karleigh walked into the house and went straight up to her room. She dropped her bag and flopped down on her bed. She sighed. How could she go from sleeping in a huge house in a king sized bed to a house that was about as big as her parents bedroom in a twin sized bed? It just wasn't right. She felt like she was being punished! She never would have thought she'd be living in a house with a bunch of hoodlums.

Karleigh wished she could just close her eyes and everything would go back to normal. She would come home from school and her parents would be sitting at the table drinking tea. Karleigh would change out of her uniform and join them. Then Yolanda would bring out some cookies. She wanted to go back and have fancy dinners with her parents cooked by their private chefs. She wanted to take a bath in her huge tub and just soak. But no, instead she comes home to an empty house, Barb doesn't even cook dinner every night, and there's one bathroom for everyone to share.

Maybe I could get a place of my own, She thought. Sure it was all in a trust fund and she wouldn't be able to touch even a part of it until she was 18 years old. But I could work something out with the bank. I'd only use money to pay for the place and food. I can take care of myself. She sighed. Who was she kidding? She couldn't take car of herself. She didn't even run her own bath when she lived with her parents! That would never work.

Suddenly another idea hit her. She could live with Yolanda! She was like a mother to her anyway, more than Barbra anyway. And Yolanda loved her! She has been taking care of Karleigh since she was a baby! Karleigh was sure that she could find a way so that Yolanda could still get her pay for taking care of her, or something like that. But Yolanda's kids would probably hate her. After all she was the reason that their mother was never home to take care of them. She was off taking care of the spoiled rich girl.

Karleigh groaned. She had to think of something! She couldn't take it here anymore! Karleigh stood up and walked down stairs. She hadn't ate much at lunch and figured she'd get a snack. She walked into the kitchen only to find Tim. His head buried in the fridge most likely looking for food.

Tim closed the fridge a minute later, a beer in his hand. He didn't know Karleigh was standing there and was shocked to see her. "Hey kid." He said as he opened his beer.

Karleigh was surprised Tim had spoken to her. He hadn't said a word to her since she got here. "Hey Tim." She said plainly. It was exactly how he'd said 'Hey kid.' to her. She knew that none of her 'siblings' liked her and was about to give up on them all together.

"How ya holdin' up?" Again Karleigh wasn't expecting him to say anything to her. But there was no real concern in his voice, it was almost like he felt obligated to say it.

"Well I'm living in a run down house on the North side of town with a 'family' that could careless about anything but themselves. How do you think I'm doin'." She spat. She was angry that none of them even wanted to make an effort to be nice to her or even get to know her. Angela was the only one who had spent time with her and she was just a kid.

She couldn't read the expression on Tim's face. It was blank and unreadable; the same look he always had. But she saw anger in his eyes. Karleigh knew she had probably hurt him, but he had hurt her. He didn't even acknowledge her, and Curly hated her. She didn't even know why. She hadn't done anything to him, he doesn't even know her.

Tim was about to say something but was cut off. "Hey Tim." Curly walked in the back door and glared at her.

Curly was about to go off on her but Tim cut him off. "You got a smoke Curly."

"Yeah." Curly said still glaring at Karleigh. He pulled a cigarette out of his pack and handed it to Tim. Tim took it and stuck it behind his ear.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Tim asked him, Curly took his glare off of Karleigh and look at his big brother.

"She was trying to embarrass me in front of my boys." Curly said and threw another quick glare at her.

"Really?" Tim asked. Karleigh knew by his tone that he didn't really believe Curly. But Curly was to heated to notice.

"Yeah."

"What did she do?" Tim asked.

"Well," Curly started. She really hadn't done anything. His friends made all the inferences and she just stood there. "Well I walked over to my boys and they were messin' with her and I didn't say nothing and they were all like 'You know her?' and she was like 'Yeah Curly tell 'em how you know me.' all preppy like and then skipped off."

Tim tried not to laugh. Even Curly thought it sounded ridiculous, but you had to be there to understand it. "Wow, Curly. She's really out to destroy your rep."

Karleigh laughed. Not just at what Tim had said but at what both of them said. Curly glared even more at her. "What are you laughin' at!" He demanded

"You just stood there and said nothing? You should have seen the look on your face! You looked like you saw a ghost!" Karleigh laughed "I skipped off? I walked off and left you with your precious friends that were giving you a hard time."

Tim chuckled under his breath. Curly balled his hands into fists and glared at her more before tinning and stalking off back out the door. Tim turned around and gave her a look. Not a mean look, or a nice look but it made her kind of felt bad for what she said earlier. She knew that he loved his family. And in a way he'd just stuck up for her. Hadn't he? But maybe that's how it always was with Curly. Curly didn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed.

She was going to apologize for what she said but didn't have time. Tim took another drink of his beer and set the half drank bottle on the counter. He walked out of the room and Karleigh turned around to see him pull on his boots and leather jacket before he walked out the door. She sighed he probably hated her even more now. She wasn't hungry anymore, far from it. All she wanted was for everything thing to go back to normal. It would be for the best and everyone would be much happier.

Karleigh went back up to her room. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked like a rich snob with her fancy clothes and pearl necklace. Karleigh took the necklace off and put it away. Even with out it she still looked snobby. Maybe that's why they hated her, she was a total soc.

"They hate me because I'm a soc." Karleigh said to herself. She untied the ribbon that held up her hair and tossed it on the dresser angrily. Her long black hair fell past her shoulders. She looked a little bit like Angela with her hair down and she had the same colored eyes as Tim. She sighed impatiently and ran a hand through her hair. What does it matter that her parents were rich? She's stuck here with them now. Technically she was a greaser. So why did they hate her for wearing decent clothes? What if she had been a greaser? Would they resent her less?

God, why was she so concerned with what they thought? She was the richest person at her private school and many thought she was a snob. A few times people had even called her a bitch when she passed them in the halls. But she didn't care. She walked by with her head held high and her friends by her side. So why does she care so much now? These people are just juvenile delinquents she never cared what they thought before. Then an idea hit her and a smirk crept onto her face. She'd show them, all of them. She could be just as cool and tough as them. How hard could dressing and acting poor be?

She would need some help, though. She wouldn't be able to do this by herself. Angela was out of the question. She would want to know why she was making all these changes. Besides she was part of the reason any way. Karleigh would have to find some real greaser girls to help her. Girls that have lived on the North side their whole life. Girls that knew what they were doing. Tomorrow at school she'd find her girls. And she'd show the Shepards just how tough and cool she could be.