CHAPTER 1

LYRA woke with a start.

"It was just a dream, it was just a dream," she reassured herself several times over before wiping the sweat off her brow and attempting to steady her breath.

But, despite her feeble effort to calm her mind, the dream flashed before her eyes once again.

It started with the sound of screeching brakes and her mother's shocking scream. Her father had looked to her mum in response or desperation, Lyra still wasn't quite sure. But she could remember seeing the side of his face filled with terror as he remained helpless in the moment. Her sister's sharp intake of breath, as her body snapped against the seatbelt, came next. Lyra would looked over just in time to get a glimpse of Vera's terrifying fright, before finally….

Finally, the CRASH.

Shattered glass rained down as the car was jolted into a tailspin. Upon reaching the ditch, zero gravity hit, the car begun to flip for not one, not two, but three turns before a tree put an end to the disaster. As Lyra hung upside down, all she could see were limp the bodies around her.

She screamed herself back to reality.

"It is just a dream!" she cried and a small sob escaped. However, the lie was futile. It wasn't just a dream. Her parents were dead. They had died in that crash. And while Lyra had been only four when it happened, the horrible details had stuck with her all these years. Almost every night the scene would haunt her. There was no denying the reality of it all.

Before she could succumb to the memory again, Lyra rose from her bed with a start. Like a madwoman on a mission stumbled through her room in the dark.

"Ow!" she cried out. It was impressive how she managed to run into not only her trunk but also her bookcase, despite only three pieces of furniture occupying her room. In her irritation, she angrily snatched a book from the shelf at random. Fortunately, she was smart enough to proceed carefully back to her bed in a tiptoe.

At the feel of the cool metal bed-frame touching her burning skin she relaxed and plopped back onto her bed. The creaky springs took a moment to settle when she moved to turn on the light. Her eyes slowly adjusted and her angry, red toe greeted her. Lyra looked on with a frown before snuggling into her blankets. Fortunately, her book choice had been impeccable. "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" Lyra read with a grin. The novel was Lyra's go to mood therapy, and she eagerly flipped to the first page to read the words "Chapter One: The Boy Who Lived" for possibly the hundredth time.

Less than an hour or two later she was fast asleep, but nightmares no longer haunted her. Instead, Lyra dreamed of wizards and witches and the magic of their world.

ooo

The following morning Lyra woke up completely content. That was before she realized it was Saturday, also known as the dreaded Chore Day.

"Good morning, sunshine," Drake called out upon entering her room without permission. Lyra bolted upright in surprise. She was momentarily distracted by her friend's dark locks in their usual disarray and happily observed the bit of stubble to his chin today. "How'd I know you'd still be in bed?"

"Drake, go away," she grumbled, suddenly grumpy. He always had to look perfect. With a huff she burrowed under her covers to hide.

"Uh, uh," Drake scolded with a laugh. "You're not getting off that easy." The floorboards began to creak with each of his steps. He moved leisurely towards the bed and Lyra clutched the comforter closer around her. She waited with a secret eagerness, but he stopped at her side.

"Hey!" She exclaimed suddenly. Drake unceremoniously ripped the covers from her grasp and laughed at her look of outrage. Lyra's expression quickly turned to an angry pout. Tongue out and all. The smile that filled her friend's face warred with her own expression. It was terribly hard to prevent a smile when his lit up his whole face, even his moody brown eyes glinted.

"Alright, alright. I'm up you twat," she conceded sassily, partly in an attempt to continue her feigned annoyance.

"Perfect, I'll see you out there sunshine."

Drake began walking towards the door. Pausing at the threshold, he called out over his shoulder, "Feel free to wear what you have on now." He comment ended with a smirk and the conversation closed with the door. All that was left was a red-faced Lyra.

Summer nights left the Home hot and humid and Lyra wore only a thin, skimpy white top and very short bottoms. She could not believe Drake had said that or even seen her outfit for that matter. The blonde threw a pillow over her face and screamed. For a moment, Lyra thought of calling in sick for the day to hide in embarrassment. But before she could think on it further, another person forgot to knock.

"That's a little dramatic, don't you think Lyra," a familiar voice called.

From beneath the pillow, Lyra rolled her eyes.

"Not true," she mumbled incoherently, maintaining a conversation with the pillow.

Her face was still a little red when Ridley, Lyra's best friend, plucked the pillow from her grasp and tossed it on the floor. "Get up, we're going to be late."

Lyra only huffed in response.

RIDLEY's morning had been very typical of her usual routine.

Her deep sleep had been awoken in the arms of her neighbor: a buzz-cut brunette named Conall. He lay bare beside her, possibly dead to the world. His mouth hung open and quiet snores emanated from within, each matching the rise and fall of his chest. The pressing of her bladder cut her inspection short and she slipped from his arms to use the loo.

She couldn't help but reflect on their latest midnight escapade. It had started with Conall's signature knock, and progressed when he refused to wait for an answer at the door.

"You could try waiting for me to let you in, you know."

"Where's the fun in that?" He pouted. "Why change tradition if it works?" Ridley rolled her eyes. If he thought sneaking around with her was 'tradition', then he was in for a nasty shock. Ridley didn't do tradition.

Conall paused for a minute considering her, and she wondered if her face betrayed her current thoughts. It must've. "You're bored of me," he decided, despite her surprise. "I knew it!" Conall continued, his volume escalating with his exaggerated despair, "Tell me it isn't true! Tell me-"

"Conall!" Ridley laughed as she rushed toward him and covered his mouth with her hand. Completely undeterred, Conall continued as if uninterrupted, mumbling incoherent complaints into her palm. She couldn't help rolling her eyes again, this time with a smile on her face. As his protests continued, Ridley dropped her hand to shut him up with her lips instead.

The resulting feel of a grin against her lips proved he didn't mind one bit. Emboldened, Ridley moved in a step closer, slid her lips to his ear, and huskily whispered, "Ready to get this show on the road?"

Her invitation was eagerly accepted.

Upon returning from her trip, Ridley sidled up to her tiny bed and lifted Conall's arm to slide in beside him. As she settled, his arm tightened around her side and his face moved closer to hers.

"Morning," he sighed contentedly.

"Morning," she whispered back.

His eyes remained shut as Ridley turned to face him. Her free hand found its way to his hair. Slowly, Conall cracked open his eyes and a soft smile escaped when he looked at her. "What a sight to wake to every morning," he reflected, lazily tugging on one of her curls. Her heart warmed and she studied him for a moment.

"Do you use that line on all your girls?" Ridley wondered aloud.

"Do you really want to know, love?" Conall shot back.

His sly smile was teasing and Ridley rolled her eyes to hide the effect of his response. As she tried to move away, Conall sighed and caught her chin.

"I would never," he promised.

ooo

Less than twenty minutes later, Ridley and Lyra were on their way to the Dining Hall dressed and ready for breakfast. Ridley hummed quietly beside her friend, both girls lost in thought. The brunette's focus revolved around her plans for the day. No doubt most of which would involve Lyra and her dreaded shadow, Drake. She wondered if maybe Conall would-

"Why were you up so early this morning? Usually I have to drag your arse out of bed," Lyra suddenly quizzed. Ridley ducked her head, hiding flaming red cheeks. Her thoughts began to betray her composure, images of Conall in her bed this morning flooded her vision.

"Oh, no reason..." Ridley tried casually with a forced smirk, one likely resembling a grimace. It seemed to work because Lyra was fooled. The blonde stopped dead in the hallway, grinning.

"You dog! Who was it this time? Ryan? Aaron?"

"Conall Richards," she cut in with a cheeky grin.

Lyra's eyebrows rose in surprise. "No way, come off it!"

Ridley's grin grew impossibly larger.

"He's one of the hottest blokes here!"

Suddenly, Ridley's grin turned wicked and she adopted a sarcastic drawl, "I mean he's no Drake, but we can't all have- Ow!" Lyra had pinched her! "You snot," Ridley laughed. The two stopped just outside the Dining Hall upon reaching it and Lyra tugged her friend off to the side. The blonde was suddenly flustered.

"I do not fancy Drake," Lyra growled pointedly.

"You're more than welcome to your interests, whomever they may be," Ridley appeased teasingly.

Lyra huffed in her usual quiet anger. Ridley was always impressed by the lid the girl could keep on ever bubbling emotions. How one tiny body could hold all that feeling was truly a conundrum.

Her best friend wasn't done protesting, "I don't fancy him! Anyone else is more than welcome to fancy Drake!"

"Who fancies me?"

The girls' eyes bulged and twirled around to find Drake, as timely as ever. Ridley thanked whoever that Lyra paled instead of blushed at his words. But then she wondered if it would really be so bad for Drake to know the truth. One look at Lyra's glowering gaze had her immediately rescinding that thought.

"Marcie," the brunette let slip instead of the truth "Apparently, she's extremely keen for you. Been asking around and everything." Lyra nodded eagerly at her side. As a bonus, Ridley added, conspiratorially, "But you didn't hear that from us." She finished with a wink. Drake pretended to vomit at the news and Lyra laughed. Saved that one, Ridley thought to herself, pleasantly impressed by her own save. "Now let's get some breakfast before I die of starvation."

DRAKE couldn't help the disappointment that arose once he realized all the food was gone.

It was the case for most meals. The orphanage was home to almost over a hundred kids, but it was meant to hold closer to forty children. And considering that many of the kids were over ten, didn't help the food shortage situation. The oldest kids- including Lyra, Ridley, and Drake who were each less than a year from turning seventeen- did what they could to make sure the younger got enough food, but the reality was that there was not enough money in the budget to buy food for all of them.

Fortunately, there were a couple brave caretakers who snuck in food for the older ones to prevent them from starving to death, despite the rule against it. Madame Stone, the head caretaker, however, happened to be quite the troll and would much rather let kids starve then allow for the rules to be broken. If caught giving away food, the staff member was either very publicly fired or was forced to clean the loos.

Today, instead of filling their starving selves, the trio chose an empty table and attempted to distract themselves with forming a plan for the day.

"We could visit Mrs. Cook?" Ridley suggested and Drake thought of the snacks she always made them. The he remembered-

"She's visiting her daughter," he reminded her.

"Right... Well, we could go to the park?" Ridley tried again.

"It's raining," Lyra pointed out. And sure enough, one glance at a window revealed it was pouring rain.

"Humph. Fine, let's go see what Ms. Fletcher is doing." Ms. Fletcher was one of the few caretakers that actually gave a shit about what happened to them and she was always their Plan B.

"She's out sick," Drake grumbled, growing increasingly annoyed.

"You know, I'm not the only one who has to come up with the ideas around here," Ridley complained in exasperation. The three fell silent at that, but Lyra's stomach chose to rumble loudly. She quickly clutched her midsection to quiet it out of embarrassment. Drake looked on in pity, surveying Lyra's too frail body. He frowned. He knew it had been days since she'd last had a proper meal. She was always so adamant about not eating until everyone else had, that included her two friends.

Suddenly an idea popped into his mind. "Let's visit Morgan's bakery," he offered with a kind smile in Lyra's direction. Morgan always let the three of them work for a meal and, although it was already their chore day, it would definitely be the best plan to get Lyra a meal. Drake tried to catch Ridley's eye to urge her into agreement, but it seemed she was already on the same page as him.

"Finally, someone else offers a good idea," Ridley sassily consented. Drake's temper threatened to flare but he held back

"We don't need to do that. I'm actually not that hungry," Lyra protested. Of course, she is the only one not in agreement, Drake thought bitterly.

"Come on," Ridley complained. "I really am starving. Please!" Ridley purposely dragged out the 'please' and brought out the puppy-dog eyes for extra measure.

It took the blonde only a moment to realize that her statement couldn't really be that far from the truth, everyone was always hungry at Home.

"Fine," she conceded.

Drake grinned.

RIDLEY was drafted to convince Ms. Holly, the Home's nurse and a very fair woman who was unfortunately related to Madame Stone, to let them leave. Meanwhile Drake and Lyra grabbed the jackets and an umbrella. Within a half hour the lot were on their way towards a real meal despite the pouring rain that was trying to send them home.

As they hurried towards the bakery, Ridley tried not to cringe every time the rain forced her in closer to Drake. If he wasn't so kind to Lyra, Ridley probably wouldn't step closer to the snake than what a ten-foot pole would allow. But she refused to dwell on such thoughts as they neared their destination at the end of the street.

A blast of warm air, an aroma of baked goods, and a crowd of people all greeted them and not even layers of soaked clothes could diminish their good moods. Morgan's bakery always smelled of pumpkin spice and everything nice. Ridley was immediately salivating. The hot waiter behind the counter could also have been a factor. Ridley swiftly slipped her way up to the front of the line, despite the complaints at her back.

"Bloody perfect timing, I could kiss you right now," Will exclaimed. Morgan was his mum so he was almost always working. Ridley reflexively gave him a wink and he grinned. "Alright tell Lyra to take orders at the counter, Drake to make drinks, and you and I will serve."

"Aye, aye captain."

And the rush began.

Two and half hours later, Lyra, Ridley, and Drake sat at a booth enjoying their hard-earned sandwiches and pastries. The rain had finally eased up and the crowd had gone with it.

"Can't wait to do even more work when we get back," Drake glumly complained and Ridley narrowed her eyes in response.

"Always looking at the bright-side Drake. How do you do it?" she sarcastically quipped. Drake met her eyes with a glare.

"Well," he began while mimicking her tone, "when I get put in fortunate situations such as these, it's quite easy." As Drake's tone turned biting, Lyra frowned at the two. "I just love working for food when- "

"We make the best of what we have." Lyra interrupted. "I know it's tough, but it's better than being out on the streets." Ridley dropped her glare and Drake followed suit. She was immediately flush with guilt. Ridley, and likely Drake too, tended to forget that Lyra had lived on the streets for a while.

"Everything alright, guys?"

The three looked up at Will, who was clearly unsure if he should interrupt. Ridley certainly wasn't complaining.

"Of course! We're so grateful that you let us help out today by the way," Lyra admitted. Ridley noticed Drake tense beside her.

"We really needed something to do," he added. She knew he was trying to downplay their need.

"And eat," she supplemented with a winning grin shot Drake's way. She turned back to a slightly uncomfortable Will. "I never can turn down one of your mom's blueberry muffins. You have to tell me what she puts in them!" Ridley finished with a sweet smile and Will grinned back.

"How about blueberries?" Drake offered with a smirk.

"Funny," Ridley continued with a fake laugh. Lyra elbowed him in the side with a frown and he looked liked a whipped puppy. Utterly pathetic, Ridley sighed to herself.

"You should take some to go," Will sweetly offered and the three turned back to him with hope-filled eyes. For once, Ridley was at a loss for words.

"Yeah, um, that would be lovely," she conceded.

"Great! Come help me box some up?" he offered and Ridley suddenly understood.

Hope the new and improved story has your stamp of approval. Would greatly appreciate a review if you can spare a moment! Thank you for reading!