The Runaways (Sean Diaz)

episode 1;part 3

state route 7, washington

"hey! there's something ahead!"

"yeah, must be that gas station we saw on the sign."

the trio of three had managed to survive the night, besides the moment where a squirrel dug through ember's bag for food and had given them all a heart attack, especially daniel. who thought it was a bear.

"you guys go ahead and wash up first." ember said as the three hispanics approached the gas station bathroom.

"ladies first." sean insisted as he opened the door for her. "and don't argue with me on that." he joked.

"yeah yeah, as if you aren't the one always picking fights." she teased as she walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.

the girl jumped as she turned herself towards the sink and saw her reflection in the mirror.

jesus. is that what i fucking look like?

the girl slowly made her way to the sink and stared at her complexion in the mirror.

last time she had seen herself was when her father gave her a slap in the face. seeing as it was gone, she fell in relief.

her face before hand was neat and perfected to her liking, with a hint of blush and highlighter, eyeliner, mascara, and her favorite cherry lip gloss as a finishing touch.

now, her face was completely stripped from the makeup she had on her face three days ago, slight crust of the mascara and eyeliner gathered under her eyes. the blush and highlighter had vanished as if she had never put them on her cheeks.

the girl decided to take the last of her teenage-hood off her face as she splashed her face with the cold water the sink provided and pat her face dry with her sleeves, removing the black makeup from her under eyes.

"alright your turn. im gonna go ahead and take a look inside." ember said as she let her boys enter the bathroom after her.

"hello there." the woman at the cashier calls out.

"hello." ember simply responded back as she made her way towards the toiletries.

alright, i know i'll desperately need these on the road, so i should buy these before daniel starts questioning what im buying. the girl says to herself as she grabs sanitary pads, making sure she grabbed the ones that were thick.

upon buying her purchase, she decided to start looking for food for the boys and herself, but spots a man in a corner of the shop with his laptop open.

she knows she shouldn't been snooping around but she can't help herself.

"i know what you're thinking." he decides to speak up, startling ember a bit. "what the hell is this creepy old man looking at?"

"oh um... no, i don't mean..."

"it's not as weird as it seems, though. these people, they only wanna live a normal life. just... naked. I mean, if they're not harming anyone, who's to say they're wrong?" the man says.