Note in Blood

Picnic in the Suburbs

Shortly after Lily was stolen away from her makeshift family at the House the whole group was invited to a small gathering at Lily's new residence. Richard came to the decision that the boys were not ready to go back out to the real world so close to the barbecue fiasco, so it was decided that Danny would go, alone.

That was how Danny ended up on a bus headed out of town. Turns out that Lily's aunt and uncle live on the edge of town in the suburbs. All of the houses were boring colors with white picket fence. All the families were equally as bland, the strong husband with the prissy wife that could do nothing but homely things. Anger seeped through Danny's body when she saw the so called "perfect family" atmosphere permeate the air. The oxygen around her almost began to suffocate her with the so called perfection.

When the bus finally stopped outside of a house with many other vehicles in front of it, Danny almost did not want to get off and just run back to the others with her tail between her legs. She almost did, but she ended up hopping off of the bus with her chains jingling. Lily needed her support in a time such as this, the change of one environment to another can throw a kid back into a place like the House.

The dwelling in front of the teenage girl was a two story, blue house with a perfect lawn with picnic tables adorning it. People walked two and fro as talking flooded her ears. Danny rarely enjoyed places such as this but Lily was worth all the trouble she was willing to go through. Speaking of the little she demon, a blonde came running out of the house door screaming for Danny.

Tears rolled down the five year old's cheeks, her relief evident on her face as she jumped into the teen's waiting embrace. No speech passed between the girls but much was conveyed about how much each missed the other. Danny felt as though she had lost her daughter and Lily had lost her new mother figure.

Danny pulled the girl away from her chest and pulled her down on to her lap. The teen had found an unused beach chair on the lawn and now she and Lily sat in it. The five year old was quite comfortable to sit on Danny's lap and talk. At first all Lily talked about was the new school she went to and the people she met. The problem with Lily was that she did not like to talk about people in a bad way, so when other kids are mean to her she will just stay quiet and let it continue.

Not a single word passed Danny's lips as she listened to the girl babble about things that neither of them cared about. The teen was waiting, patiently, for the blonde girl to tell her everything, not just the good but also the not so good things. After a few minutes the little one stopped speaking and stared at Danny. After a small insert of silence Lily whispered, "You want me to tell you, don't you?"

Danny did not need to respond with anything other than a curt nod. "Okay then." Lily said with a sigh, "Everyone makes fun of me. They told me that I should not be in the school because I hurt people and that I could never make friends because I'm too creepy." She looked up at Danny desperately, "Is that true?" Both girls looked at each other before Danny grabbed the kids shoulders gently, "Of course not, Lily. You are special and don't you dare let anyone tell you differently. You are like Jade and Drake, just your difference is on the inside. You are Lily and you are not allowed to be anyone but my Lily."

Lily smiled a thin smile then continued, "I don't think that Aunty notices me. Yesterday I didn't get lunch because she forgot to pack me one. I thought maybe she was too busy but Kory got one. She keeps ignoring me too. Am I bad? Is that why she doesn't love me?" Tears flowed into the girls eyes again as she spoke.

Comfort flowed out of Danny into Lily from her gentle hands that caressed the blonde's hair. She whispered into Lily's hair, "No little one, it is not your fault. Don't you worry, she will come around and find out just how lovable you are." The Danny rocked her back and forth, trying to comfort her in the only way she truly could.