The Circle Of Us

Chapter Two

Scarlett looked in the mirror, touching up on her eyeliner, before she went to put her baggy black jumper on. Then she grabbed her bag, checking that her lunch was in there. She'd saved it from school to give to Fira and her sister. It's not like there was any point in Scarlett having it. She would never eat it. Too many calories.

Therapy session, she thought, such a stupid idea, why do I always have to act on impulse?

Scarlett really just hoped they would show up. She wouldn't be able to cope with the abandonment.

Pulling her jumper sleeve down further than it already was, really hoping no one would find out what she'd been doing. She didn't want them to know. She didn't want them to be disappointed in her, especially not her favourite person.

Scarlett headed over to her window, opening it and letting the cool air rush into her face as she climbed out onto the window ledge, careful not to make any noise.

If her parents caught her they would most definitely send her away to a mental health hospital saying she tried to commit suicide.

After she had closed the window, Scarlett jumped onto the nearest tree so she could scramble down and escape so she wasn't caught sneaking out.

At the bottom of the tree, Scarlett stood for a minute, admiring the moonlit trees, swaying slightly in the mild wind. Then she ran over to the path, fearing the consequences of her actions, hoping that as long as she wasn't caught that there wouldn't be any.

----

Cara stood outside the warehouse, smoke mingling with the cool air as she exhaled. The new kid in town had seriously deliberated not showing up to Scarlett's so-called 'midnight therapy group'. Yet, her Dad was already worried about the girl, and he had enough on his mind without stressing about Cara too. When she had told him that she was going out with friends, he began to look somewhat happier - so much so that he was able to overlook the whole midnight thing.

If it had been Cara's Mam, she wouldn't have been nearly so accepting. As it was however, her Mam wasn't even in the country. So, she stood outside the warehouse in the dead of night and put out her cigarette by grinding it into the ground with her boot. Then she turned and took a deep breath as she pushed open the large doors.

It seemed she was the last one to arrive. An odd group of individuals were gathered in the room, and Cara couldn't help the pang in her chest as she realised that yes - she did belong with these people. Scarlett with her pink hair and... actually, Cara reckoned she could spot every colour in the rainbow in hair alone just then. She wondered what it would be like in a poem...

Brushing the thought away and pulling the sleeves of her jumper over her hands, she joined them in their circle, depositing her bag at her feet.

----

Rose walked up to the door of the warehouse, taking a deep breath. She wiped imaginary dust off her jeans, in a flurry of emotions. She knocked on the door.

No answer.

She knocked again, this time receiving an answer from a familiar face, one of the girls she met earlier that day. She had dark brown skin, and a curly bob cut that seems to compliment her asian features. The dark-skinned youth smiled warmly at her and welcomed her. Rose thought she was pretty friendly.

"Hello? I was told to meet here for a support group." Rose was more confused than ever, wondering if she got the right address.

"This is the place. Rosie, right?" Blythe smiled and directed Rose inside, questioning her name.

"Rose, actually. Me and Kefira have called each other 'Rosie' and 'Firie' we have since we first met." Rose corrected. Although she was 17, she still acted like a five year-old in terms of maturity.