Roadside Freakshow.

Chapter 1- Hitch-hiking's Unexpected Results.

Katiya

I was brooding. That wasn't totally abnormal for me, but I was sitting in some soft, lush grass with a perfectly blue and cloudless sky overhead so I shouldn't be in a bad mood. Then again, I had just run away from home

As I sat and waited by the roadside I thought back to my family a little, but mainly focused on the music blaring through my headphones. The only person I would actually miss would be my grandma, Ayako Xavier. I would miss her stories of coming to America from Japan, of meeting my grandpa (who died when I was four) and most of all I would miss the fantasy bedtime stories she told me. Her tales were always, always about a normal girl who grew to be a hero. Of course, they weren't all fables. They were based on my 'abilities'.

I can do things that normal people can't. That's part of the reason I ran away. No-one but Ayako accepted me for who I was. She didn't mind that I was a freak who accidently set the attic on fire, she actually helped me understand and control my powers. Then she made up stories about them, inspiring me to master them and try to do good. Of course, that was before I needed to start stealing to survive, but even then she understood and supported me.

In the past few weeks, as I near my nineteenth birthday, they've been getting stronger and much, much more uncontrollable. I think the fact that my dad was getting more abusive and mum was getting bitchier also affected them. It was actually Ayako's idea that I leave, though I'd certainly entertained the fantasy a few times myself. She was the only thing that had been keeping me there, but now she was dying and I couldn't stand the tension and bullshit at home, so I'd fulfilled her dying wish and left to go to Japan and inherit the family mansion when she died.

I'd gotten a ride almost straight away, though the douchebag had gotten all grabby after the first few kilometres. Threatening to electrocute him had convinced him to let me walk the rest of the thousands and thousands kilometres. I actually kind of semi-wished that I'd let him have his way and gotten to the airport faster, but that would mean losing the last bit of innocence I had left and I wasn't prepared to do that.

I sighed, adjusted my sunglasses and picked up my bags, beginning walking again. Cars passed me by, ignoring my obvious signal asking for a ride. I was getting frustrated. Really frustrated. If I didn't calm down soon something was probably going to be set on fire. Beginning a massive bushfire wasn't on my to do list.

Hours and hours later, as the sun was beginning to set, a car pulled up beside me. I didn't even have to signal to them, they just did. The driver's window rolled down and I saw a red-haired woman in her mid-forties looking at me curiously with bright green eyes.

"Hi there, honey. Do you need a ride?" She asked. I constructed my best smile, which was rather dazzling if I do say so myself.

"If I wouldn't be a bother, I need to get to the airport." I answered.

"Well aren't you lucky! We're heading that way!" Before I could even ask who 'we' was I was answered.

"Mom, if it isn't some hot girl in her late teens, we don't care." A boy who looked my age leaned forward from the passenger seat to look at me. "Well I'll be damned, it's a hot girl. You're welcome any time sweetie." He smiled, his green eyes lighting up with joy. His flirting was more funny then anything.

"Thanks." I said as I got into the backseat, placing my two bags at my feet. The boy turned to face me, running a hand through his brown hair and giving me a once over as I closed the car door.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone?" He asked.

"Travelling." He raised an eyebrow, as if he knew I was lying. His mother just started the car up again and kept driving. "What are you two doing?"