Dysfunction

Dre: I swallow the lump in my throat and pick up the cards that fell. Hard to do when I'm shaking like an earthquake. "I wanna go back to the Playground," I say quietly. I keep my eyes on the ground.

Livia
"No, you don't" I said firmly "Think about it, Dre. We could be free now, all you have to do is give me a little trust. I won't let anything happen to you"

Xander: Dre gets really quiet, but he's still shaking. Gently letting go of Livia's hand, I start looking at the huge city. Is this what outside is like? It seems so pretty and so scary at the same time. But as I turn around, I notice a white car coming down the road.

Livia
I stiffen, my hands balling into fists though I've never been taught how to fight "Alright guys, first sign that van is hostel, we bolt. But they could also be helpful"

Xander: I step back behind Livia as the van stops. The side opens and a man is sitting there on his haunches. He's wearing white baggy bants and a plain white shirt. He's even got white snake tattoos all over his arms. His ears are pierced and so are his lips, but he's bald like me. But my eyes immediately latch onto the eye patch on his left eye. I don't know whether I should e afraid of him or tell him how cool he looks. He can't be much older than Gage. He cocks his head and let's out of puff of smoke, something strange and sweet smelling. "Ya'll from around here?"

Livia
"Maybe" I said stiffly, taking an almost motherly protective stance in front of Xander "Depends on who's asking" I examined him, my eyes flashing with anger and uncertainty

Xander: The man looks from me to Livia to Dre. There are two more people with him, both of them just as wierd looking. "A friend," he says.

Livia
"Prove it" I said simply, crossing my arms

Xander: The man blinks at us for a few moments before untying his eyepatch. My eyes widen and I hide behind Livia's leg. H-H-He doesn't have an eye! Curiosity make me peak at him again. He looks at her flatly and holds his eyepatch between his fingers. "Four years old, dad committed a crime. This was the price of snitching."

Livia
If there was one thing I wasn't too stubborn to admit, is that imperfects for the most part, stuck together. Almost like a family. I sighed "We're new here, running away from Dysfunction"

Xander: He looks us over before he starts to tie his eyepatch back on. "Get in."

Barbie: I look down at watch and then back at the wheelchair guy. "Time to go," I say. So much for lunch.

Livia
I looked back at the others, looking for their reactions

Gage
I nod with a sigh, "Mind helping me back into the van? My name's Gage, by the way"

Xander: Dre stands up after a moment. "Do you know the way to the Playground?" The man raises his eyebrows and I look at Dre. "B-But I don't wanna go back." "Then don't," he says. "I'm the only one going."

Barbie: "And I'm no one of consequence," I say as I help him in. I take out a box of cigarettes and offer him one. "Trust me, you'll need it."

Livia
"No, Dre" I muttered, taking his hand for comfort like I did sometimes "Please don't go"

Gage
I sigh, taking one despite the fact I wasn't a smoker "Everybody is of some consequence. And do you have a lighter?"

Barbie: I light a match and put it to his cigarette. "Onky when you're in front of the camera," I say. "Consider that your second rule."

Dre: I hate the sky. I hate the buildings. I hate being confused and not knowing what'll happen next. I may have hated the Playground, but there there was order. Predictability. "Well?" I ask, ignoring Livia. The guy nods and I look at Squeak. He bites his lip but looks at the man. "O-Ok," he says.

Gage
I took a long drag of the cigarette "What?" I asked, suppressing a cough

Livia
"Dre, please..." I muttered, looking into his eyes

Dre: "Does anyone give a flying fuck what I think?" says a voice. Starr yawns and props her chin up on my head. "Just let him go. We're wasting time." The man scoots over and let's us in. Starr climbs off my back and nestles in amongst the trash. I pull my hood over my head and start playing with the cards again.

Livia
I get in as well, but... screw this, I've already lost my sister, gotten kidnapped, and now Dre was leaving me? Worst day ever

Barbie: "You only matter if you're in front of a camera. No one cares about what they don't see." I let out a drag as I fix his wheelchair in the trunk. "If your friend done yet?" I ask with a nod towards the other girl. We can't exactly go to lunch now.

Starr: "Why the long face?" I ask as I look at Livia. "We're getting out with all our limbs in tact. That has to be a plus."

Livia
"Don't you see, Starr? This could be our only shot of freedom, dangit, and if we're willing to toss it away this easily, maybe we don't deserve it, anyway"

Gage
River twirled around in circles, until she collapsed on the ground with a giggle. "She's good now, I think. River, come on!" I called, and she skipped over while singing some old song. "And I can see you, so I care. Therefore, I still want to know your name"

Rose/Max?

Sorry, coming.

Starr: "If Dre wants to go then let him," I say so that onky she can hear. My eyes flicker to him. "You should know that you can't save everyone."

Barbie: "Get in," I tell her, still ignoring Gage. "We've got maybe twenty minutes before Sight shows up, and I wanna check the cameras."

it's okay
Livia
Sometimes I felt like I was trying to scoop water out of a sinking ship with a bucket "I know... I know that, but I'm not trying to save just anyone. It's Dre, Starr" I sighed "He's our friend, I'm I'm not letting him go without a fight. You should know that"

Gage
River nodded and hopped in, suddenly getting really, really calm

Starr: I don't get Livia sometimes. She always has to fight against the current when she could let herself be carried off just the same. That's how you drown. Squeak keeps trying to look out the windows and keeps asking our "saviour" question after question.

Barbie: I get in after them and sit across from them, taking a camera out from under the seats. "And now for the practice run."

Livia
Sometimes, I don't understand Starr. If we all just sat down on our rears, accepting everything that came to us, nothing would ever get accomplished. At all.

Gage
I stiffen slightly, extengusing the cigarette on my chair. I hated cameras. A bit ironic, huh?

Barbie: I hold it up to my eye. "Name and disease, please," I say. "And don't forget to smile pretty. To be honest, I'm not sure if either one of you could pull off 'mysterious.' And the crowd only likes 'awkward' if it's cute or strangely hot."

Squeak: "That's Dre," I say as I keep talking to the guy. "And that's Livia and Starr. I'm Xander but everyone calls me Squeak." The man nods abd continues to puff away on a funny looking cigarette. "I'm Sight," He says. "And those two are Hear and Speach."