Broken Promises

New To The Group

*25 Years Ago*

Naomi let out a dramatic gasp when she came to a sudden realization. "Guys!"

Beau mimicked her dramatic state with his own dramatic gasp. "What?!"

"This is the perfect place to play Hide and Seek." She jumped down from the conveyor belt, looking over to Penny and FP behind the giant factory machine. "Guys, are you done pretending to make out over there?" She joked. "Come here! We should totally play Hide and Seek."

FP took Penny by the hand and led her back to the group. "I don't know. That might be kinda dangerous." He admitted.

"That's what makes it more fun." Alice admitted, giving him a slight punch on the arm.

"Then we should go ghost hunting in the basement." Tall Boy suggested.

"What makes you think there's even a basement here?" Beau wondered.

"Ummm...it's a factory. An old one. There's gotta be a basement." Tall Boy responded with an obvious tone.

"Come on! If it'll make you feel better. We can have teams. I pick Timothy!" Naomi ran over to Gash, putting her arms around him.

"Don't call me Timothy!" Gash begged, returning her hug.

"How did you get the nickname 'Gash' anyway?" Penny spoke for the first time in front of the whole group.

"You see this?" He put his hand up to reveal a large scar on the palm of it. "I fell out of a tree during recess when I was seven. I wasn't very popular in school so no one could ever remember my name and they all just started calling me 'Gash,' because of the big gash in my hand from when I fell. That was the only thing I was known for at the time."

"Ow!" She exclaimed. "What about you, Tall Boy? Well...it's kind of obvious isn't it?" She giggled, measuring his height to the other three guys. "What's FP stand for?"

"It's-"

"Alice, don't!" FP demanded.

"FORSYTHE PENDLETON!" Both Alice and Naomi screamed before FP could stop them and they all laughed.

"Wow." Penny laughed as well.

"Come on....let's play Hide and Seek!" Naomi begged.

"Wait! Do you guys hear that?" Beau asked.

"What?" Everyone asked.

"Someone's coming." He whispered. "Gash, shut off the lights! Everybody hide."

"Wait, guys..." FP started.

"Shhh!" Alice grabbed FP and Penny and pulled them under the conveyor belt with her.

"Hold on." FP tried to say, but everyone shushed him.

"Hello?" Came a new voice from outside the gray door. It slowly squeaked open and they heard footsteps around the dark area. "Is....anybody here?" The footsteps stopped as if the newcomer were listening for any type of movement. "Helloooo?" The footsteps moved again and stopped right by Alice, Penny, and FP. Alice held tight to Penny's hand before FP started to squirm.

"FP, no!" Alice did her best not to whisper too loudly. "No!"

"GOTCHA!" FP yelled as he grabbed the stranger's foot.

"Oh my God! FP?!" The person jumped, reaching around for Forsythe. "What the hell?!"

"Turn the lights on, guys! It's just my buddy, Fred. From the Northside." FP called out. "That's what I was trying to tell you." He laughed once more at how much he scared Fred Andrews and the lights were finally turned back on. "I told him to meet us here."

"You scared the shit out of us!" Alice said, helping Penny stand up from under the conveyor belt.

"I scared you?!" Fred pointed to himself. "You guys scared the shit out of ME!" He argued. "I thought I was gonna get attacked by a poltergeist or something."

"See?! I thought there were ghosts here too!" Naomi said with her hands on her hips.

"Are you okay?" FP asked, still laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Fred said, patting him on the shoulder. "What are you guys up to?"

"Well...Naomi, here, was just trying to convince us to play Hide and Seek." FP answered.

"Here? Are you crazy?" Fred asked. "What if there ARE poltergeists in here?"

"Then we'd have a good story to tell later." Naomi giggled, resting her arm on Tall Boy's shoulder when he sat down on a desk beside her.

"Mmmm...no. I'm not down for that." Fred responded.

"You're no fun." Naomi replied. "FP, why'd you invite him?"

"Because he IS fun. He's just smart." They all laughed and the Jones kid introduced them. "Fred, this is Alice, Naomi, Beau, that's Tall Boy right there....you've met Gash, and this is the new addition to our family...Penny Peabody."

"Penny Peabody? Have we met before?" Fred wondered.

"Well...I, ummm...I was a cheerleader for Greendale and I was on their basketball team." She quietly admitted.

"Oh, that's right! Weren't you the cheerleading captain? As a freshman? We played you guys back at the beginning of the school year. And your basketball team was amazing. My girlfriend, Mary, played too and she said you were the lead scorer for your team." Fred smiled. "She hated playing you, 'cause you were so good." He laughed.

Penny giggled. "Yeah....that was me."

"Do you play at Southside High?" He asked.

"No. Um...I don't...." She shrugged. "No."

"Why not? You could get a great scholarship for being the lead scorer." Fred encouraged.

"Yeah, but...I don't know. I'd rather not put myself out there at Southside High." She looked around at her classmates who knew what she meant and she hated seeing how shocked they were to hear she used to be so beloved at her old school.

"Why? What's-?" Fred began, but when he noticed the caution on everyone else's face, he stopped. "Is Southside High really that bad?"

"No, no. It's not Southside High. It's just...me." Penny began with a light chuckle.

"No, it's not, Penny." Alice angrily protested. "It's everyone else. You don't deserve the shit you're getting here."

"Alice? Alice...it's okay." FP grew wary of Ms. Smith's current state as she made her hands into tight fists, digging her nails into her skin.

"Ace." Beau put a hand on Alice's shoulder, also seeing her uncontrollable side coming out.

Alice shook his hand off her shoulder and walked away from the group. "I need a minute." She put her hand over her mouth and walked to the back of the factory.

Penny's eyes followed her and her heart broke, knowing exactly how she must feel. "Excuse me." She said to the group, heading over to see Alice who sat on a chair under a balcony of some sort near the corner of the room. "Al-Alice?" She said, approaching her. "Are you alright?"

Alice looked up to her new friend. "Yeah." She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Sometimes when I get angry I can get violent, so I had to calm down. I don't want you to have to see me like that on our first day hanging out." She laughed.

Penny laughed too, kneeling in front of her. "I wouldn't mind. You weren't exactly calm in the hallway at school today anyway." She joked about when Alice kneed Hank in his most sensitive area.

"That's true." Alice giggled.

"Hey..." Penny said sadly. "FP told me about you and Tony." She took hold of Alice's hand. Looking into her eyes, she let a few tears fall. "I'm sorry."

Alice looked down at the crying freshman and she broke. "I'm sorry, too." She pulled Penny in for a hug while they cried and they both sat there for a moment before the rest of their friends, including Fred, made their way over to them, gathering around both girls and forming a group hug.