A/N: Hai! Hope u guyz like my story!!! Its my first time writing hehe...don't bully but criticism is nice.

________________________________________________________________________________

I was running, fast as my legs could go, through a huge mass of tall, dark trees. I knew something was chasing me. I couldn't see it. I couldn't hear it. But I could feel something evil trailing me, getting closer, closer, closer...

I woke up with a start. I was drenched in sweat, yet somehow trembling like a drug addict in withdrawal. Relief flooded through me as the fear started to wear off.

It was a dream. Despite how real it felt, despite the adrenaline making my head throb, I was safe at home. Well...maybe safe wasn't the right word.

Home. I'd spent my entire life with my mother in a tiny DC City apartment. For as long as I could remember, I'd taken care of my perpetually teenage mother. Not literally of course. In reality, Mom was 35. Having me at the ripe old age of 18 to a man who disappeared not even 2 years later should have forced her to grow up faster, but no. After I stopped being completely dependent, I pretty much became my own legal guardian. It's somehow become my job to clean up after her, to drive her home after late nights of less than legal activity. My safety had never been her top concern.

On the bright side, I'm basically the world's most responsible teenager.

I glanced at the alarm on my bedside table. 5:30. Technically too early for much activity, but I got up anyway. Earlier was way better than later, plus I'd already been 'later' at least 2 times that week. I could not afford the two hour detention that came with a third tardy.

Plus I was still completely shaken up from that dream. Just thinking about it made the hairs on my neck stand up, remembering the feeling of intense darkness following me. Like an idiot, I whipped my head around. Of course there was nothing there, but still. Just to be safe.

I took my time getting dressed. I knew I'd have to leave by at least 7:00 to make it to school on time, so I was in no real rush. I only lived 20 minutes away from school by foot, and since I couldn't afford a car or a bike, walking was my only option. It wasn't too bad, though. New York was never a boring place to walk through, and I could usually find someone interesting to look at along the way.

People watching had been a hobby of mine for a while. I liked trying to figure out someone's personality just based on brief glances. The way they walked, dressed, their expressions, everything told me a little tiny piece of them. I like to think I've gotten pretty good at it. With so much free time on my hands, it was one of the only things I could do.

So that's exactly what I did. I put on some jeans and an ancient sweatshirt, preparing to brave the chilly September air. But before I could leave, my conscience wailed at me to go check on my my mother.

She'd barely stumbled home last night, drunk off her ass on a Thursday night. Of all days to come home like that, somehow Thursday was the worst. Like you couldn't even wait until Friday, to do it when it's cool. No, you just had to go drown your sorrows on Thursday.

Sighing, I walked to the very back of our apartment, the creaks in the floor and the crappy lighting spooking me more than usual. I knocked on her door, then. No reply. That was...strange. My mom slept horribly, even after bad nights. She would usually be up by 5 at least. My heart started to pound a little faster.

I gently opened the door.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked. My mother's head jerked up so fast it was almost funny.

"Ah, shit," she mumbled, untangling herself from blankets the embrace of a man. A nude man. I squeezed my eyes shut, cheeks tingling with heat. "Sorry Blythe! You know how crazy your sister gets at a good party!" She said, laughing loudly.

The man beside her grumbled something about his head, telling her to shh. I winced. She did that sometimes, pretend to be my slightly older sister instead of my mother. Usually just to trick guys, sometimes to get out of the responsibilities that came with being a parent. "Of course, Gwendolyn," I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my voice at her name, "I'll be out of your hair now." Still closing my eyes, I backed out of the room, slammed her door, and stomped over to the front door.

Any trace of fear left over from my dream was being burned by the anger I felt in that moment. I thought of how my friends described their mothers. Kind, loyal, responsible, funny, tough, loving, strong. Not one of those qualities could ever, ever be attributed to my own mother. She was a drunk, callous, tactless, idiotic, lazy, everything a mother was not supposed to be.

I violently pulled the front door closed behind me, not even bothering to lock it. I wanted to scream, to punch something, to make everyone see how unfair my life was. Why should I have to be the adult when I was only 17?

Tears clouded my vision, threatening to spill. Crying in public, right outside my apartment building, that was a low I wasn't willing to reach yet.

I needed to calm down.

I closed my eyes, counted to ten, and made my way over to my favorite people watching park, a little ways down the street.

I wished for someone interesting to pass by, to take my mind off of my own completely garbage life.

Let's just say, I got my wish.