Chapter One-Back Home

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

"I have to Zig. I don't have anywhere else to go."

"You could always stay with me."

"…I have to do this, Zigzag. I have to face…her again."

Squid brushed his brown hair out of his caramel eyes as he stared up at the beat up building. It was pretty out of shape, but it was the only place he could call home. He hated that his best friend had to see where he lived, but he knew that Zigzag wouldn't say anything about it to anyone they knew.

Camp Green Lake had been closed down a week ago, but Squid was too afraid to return home. He stayed with Zigzag and his parents and they made him feel at home. But he knew it was time to return to his own place, but he didn't want to leave the Kaschs' too soon.

Looking at the old house brought back bad memories for Squid, but he knew he had to face his past sooner or later. Taking a deep breath, he took a shaky step towards his home. One by one he slowly got closer. Everything was the same, the bushed, the porch, the peeling paint on the door. Everything, it brought everything back, but it mostly brought back the pain. He reached a shaky hand out towards the doorknob and slowly got closer and closer. Before his hand even rested on the knob, the door swung open and a girl stepped out.

Squid's eyes widened as he looked at the small girl. Her straight brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her dull eyes looked at him in wonder. Her shirt was ripped and tattered and there were holes in the knees of her jeans. She had some dirt smudged on her face and the making of a black eye.

"Ally," he whispered his voice so soft. He reached down and pulled the girl in a tight hug as tears fell down his face. The girl wrapped her small arms around his neck and allowed herself to be picked up off of the ground.

"Alan. I missed you so much," she whispered as he put her down. He placed his hands on her cheeks and inspected her eye.

"How've you been holding up, kid?" Squid asked her.

"Well enough to stay alive," she responded bitterly. "Where were you this whole time? You said you'd be back soon. And you never wrote and-" She stopped when she heard a voice float out of the house.

"Ally, you wench! I told you to get me some damn beer! What's taking you so long?"

A hard look crossed Squid's eye as a look of fear flashed behind Ally's. He pushed open the door and started into the house, despite Ally's calls. Zigzag walked up behind Ally and bent down until they were eye level. Ally trembled at the sight of him but he had a reassuring smile on his face.

"Everything will be fine, Ally. I promise," he said as he squeezed her shoulder gently. She retreated into the house and he followed her, closing the door behind him. He heard angry shouts coming from the kitchen and the sound of glass breaking.

"What the hell do you think you're doing back here?" Mrs. Smith, Alexis, yelled as she threw another empty beer bottle at Squid's head.

"I'm trying to stop you from hurting my sister!" He yelled back as he dodged the bottles that shattered against the wall. "I'm taking her with me!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Alexis snarled as she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall. "You two aren't going anywhere. You're going to stay here with me, and that's finale!"

"Ma'am." Zigzag said, signaling her of her presence. Alexis turned and saw him standing in the door way. She grabbed another beer bottle and hurtled it at him. He tilted his head to the left and the bottle went flying past his head.

"Who are you? Get out of here!" She screamed as she continued to throw bottles at him.

"Mom! STOP IT!" Squid yelled. "That's Zigzag, he's my best friend. Stop throwing things at him!" He grabbed the bottle out of her hands and held it above her head as Alexis glared up at him. "You have to stop this mom. You're only going to get yourself and Ally killed. You need help."

"Help?" Alexis repeated. "Help? The help I got before was from Duke. But all he wanted was my body along with my money. After he got that he ran away and never came back. Just like your bastard of a father – "

"Leave dad out of this!" Squid slammed the empty bottle down on the table and it shattered with the force of the blow. He winced slightly when the glass cut his hand but that was the only sense of pain he showed. "It's your fault he left us! All of this is your fault! And now you're going to take it out on us when things don't go your way? That's bullshit mom, and you know it. You need help and I'm going to make sure you get it. The only way I can do that right now is by taking Ally with me."

The kitchen was silent as Zigzag looked back and forth between the look of fury on Alexis's face and the look of hatred on Squid's face. Sure, he's seen Squid mad before, but not this mad. Ally stood in a corner whimpering softly as she wiped tears from her eyes. Zigzag took her hand and led her out of the kitchen.

"Where'm I going to do?" Ally asked softly as she climbed the stairs, Zigzag by her side.

"You and Squ—I mean Alan will stay with me. You'll like my family," he responded as he gently ruffled her hair.

"But what will happen to my momma?" She questioned as she pushed open the door to her bedroom. She walked over to her closet, pulled out a suitcase, and opened it before moving around the room to put clothes into it.

"Well…she'll be getting help," he responded as he leaned against the doorway. "And she needs it badly."

"But what about my edumacation?"

"'Edumacation'?" Zigzag repeated as a confused look crossed his face. "Oh, you mean education."

"That's what I said."

"Who's been teaching you?"

"Duke."

"You mean, you've never been to a school with other kids?"

"No, I've been home schooled this whole time."

"Well, when you and Alan come and live with me, you'll be sent to a real school where you will get an education that you deserve."

Ally smiled softly up at him as she continued to fill the suitcase with clothes. Squid came in through the door and Ally rushed over to his side. Squid picked her up and held her against his hip as he hugged her tight. The nine-year-old girl had a smile on her face as he carried her out of the house.

"Are you sure it's ok for us to stay with you?" Squid asked Zigzag as he placed Ally in the back of Zigzag's car.

"Of course it's ok," Zigzag said with a reassuring slap to Squid's back. "Don't forget that I'm always here for you, dude."

"Thanks," Squid said with a smile. He pasued and said, "Y'know, you're not as crazy now as you were back in Camp Green Lake."

"Never speak of that name here." Zigzag hissed as he slapped his palm over Squid's mouth.

"Why not?" Squid's muffled voice came out from behind his palm.

"You don't know who might be listening." Squid just shook his head as he got into the passenger seat of the car as Zigzag got into the driver's seat. He looked back at the house and saw his mom standing on the porch with a sad look on her face. He turned his attention back to the road as Zigzag drove away. "Now, I have to warn you, my place is…hectic."

"How hectic is hectic?" Squid questioned suspiciously.

"You'll see," was all Zigzag responded. About an hour later they pulled up in front of a nice house. Squid felt a pang of jealousy as he lifted his sister out of the car and held her against him with one hand as he held onto her suitcase with the other. Zigzag locked the car and led them up to the house. He unlocked it and pushed the door, letting them in. Once the door closed Zigzag yelled, "I'm home!" Squid heard pounding footsteps before kids rushed over to greet him.

"Ricky, we're glad you're back," a woman about the age of fourty and a man walked in.

"Mom, you said it was ok if Alan and his sister Ally stayed here, they can't go back home," Zigzag said as he hugged his mother.

"It's perfectly fine. You two are welcome here," she said as she smiled at Alan as he put the suitcase on the floor. "I'm Lena, this is my husband Leon. And these are our kids." She turned and saw them standing in line from tallest to shortest. "You all ready know Ricky. He's sixteen turning seventeen. Then there's Eric. He's fifteen. And next is Liam. He's fourteen. Sandy is thirteen. Samantha is twelve. Riley and Rachel are eleven, twins as you can see. Then there is Jake at ten. And last is Maggie at nine. Kids, this is Ricky's friend Alan Smith and his little sister Ally. They will be staying with us for a while."

Alan looked the kids over. They all had wild blond hair and matching wild blue eyes. The twins, he noticed, were smiling at him brightly. Besides them, the only other ones who smiled were the girls. The boys had hostile looks on their faces.

"You can go back to what you were doing now," Leon told them. The boys ran off, towards the basement, as the girls giggled and walked off. Maggie waited as Squid put Ally on the ground.

"I'm Maggie," she said as they started to walk off.

"I'm Ally. Do you like video games?"

"Yeah!"

"Squid, I think my sisters like you," Zigzag said as he motioned for him to follow him up the stairs. "You'll be staying with me in my room. Sorry if the mess bothers you, I'm not known to clean."

"It's fine," Squid said as he walked into the room. He twisted the toothpick that was in his mouth before he turned back to Zigzag and said, "Thanks man. I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem dude, really," Zigzag responded with a shrug. "Don't forget, I'm always here for you."