The streets are dark aside from the occasional nightclub lights or street lights. She's alone for now, in this tiny space. If one can consider an alley as such. It's safer here than it is at home. There, everyone is a threat. Here she can stay curled up as long as she wants and no one will ask her questions. Until police find her, that is. After that, she'll be interrogated and dragged back. For now, however, she is calm, with her legs pulled up against her chest and eyes closed. No, she's not trying to sleep, but rather trying to stay conscious for the time being. It's the only thing she can focus on. Determined to evade authorities for as long as she possibly can. That and as long as she's awake, her demons can't torture her with nightmares.

They're here almost every weekend, if not every day. Drawn in mostly by the alcohol and heavy music. Although, the half-dressed girls, strobing lights, and sweaty bodies are an added bonus. Half the men of this group are almost always drinking. One more than the others. This place is their home away from home. Two out of the six are so drunk their faces are plastered to the cool tabletop. Another pair has disappeared into the crows, most likely making out with someone. One is in the bathroom leaned over a toilet spewing his guts and squeezing his eyes shut. This is practically their daily routine at the moment. Mostly because none of them have enough motivation to take their band dream seriously. Right now, they're all dealing with demons and some type of past they want to get away from.

The only real sober member of the group pulls himself from the table. As always he'll be the one to take them home. After all, he's the most responsible one out of all of them. He nods to the bartender on his way out. Their way of communicating that it's time to cut the others off. As he steps outside the night air picks up, slightly tousling his dark tresses. It stops every now and then as he makes his way to the parked van. One hand tucked in his pocket, the other running through his hair. From time to time light catches on his fair skin. He watches for police because his friends are rather incapable of staying out of trouble when intoxicated. Finally, his eyes spot the van and with a sigh of relief, he moves faster to get to it. Once inside and it's started up, he pulls from the parking lot and over to the club's entrance. He'll have to pile them in one by one.

She's not concerned about anything. Not even the fact that she's worrying her brother and possibly driving him up a wall. Or the cold air that nips at her exposed legs as she runs through the night drunk and laughing at the top of her lungs like a free spirit. Her eyes are bright with some type of electricity deep in her soul. She's all he has right now in this hell he calls life. It's why he does what he does.

It's the sirens that have her up and running. Forcing her to find another spot to hide. That signature red, white, and blue flashing in the dark. The potent wailing in the background as she tries to run down narrow passages into darker areas where no one will notice her. Except, it leads her to a brighter area where doors open up to loud exciting places. Places she avoids because they remind her too much of home. Behind her, she can hear multiple pairs of feet and dogs barking. They'll find her if she isn't careful. Without a second thought, she runs into the street. It's tires screeching, the feeling of her body being thrown back, and people screaming. Briefly, the world stops and grows hazy before turning black.He tried not to hit her. Really tried. But he hadn't seen her to be honest. Wasn't even expecting anyone to run out into oncoming traffic. With a single fluid movement, he's clambering out of the vehicle, some of the others following suit.

"Shit Mitchell, just fucking kill everyone."

Mitchell's not paying attention anymore. Leaning over the unconscious girl and trying not to freak out.

"She alive?"

"Yeah, fortunately. Mitchie didn't run her down. She's lucky to just be unconscious."

"Aaron, you're not even over here. How would you know?"

"You worry too much, Mitch. But if you must know her chest is still moving a little."

Sure enough, Aaron is right. The girl's chest is still heaving and stuttering as she struggles to breathe. Mitchell sighs and glances at the others with another worried look. All of them can hear the sirens. They now have an even bigger problem. Besides Aaron peeing on the side of a building.

"This is... this is... going to ssssound shtoopid, but lesh jusss take her."

"Eijinn, we're best friends and all, but will you shut your drunk ass up!"

Aaron of course knows that his overly drunk red-headed friend is right about what he's said. Leaving her would make it look like a hit and run. And none of them want to deal with police while he's around. So it's no surprise that he moves quickly to toss the injured girl over his shoulder and climbs back into the van. His friends are quick to follow suit. Mitchell steps on the gas, wanting nothing more than to get the van out of the roadway.

She's still running and giggling when he finally catches up to her. At the least, she's enjoying herself. Though, he's sure there are people who think she needs to seek professional help. A frown graces her face as he throws an arm around her.

"Ella, my darling sister, if you're not careful you'll get hurt. Let's just go home already."

The younger girl shakes her head as her smile returns. Before he can ask her what she's thinking, Ella is off and disappearing into the night. He's left yet again trying to catch up to her. She's a blur of motion and giggles tonight. He's thankful to be fast enough to not lose sight of her in the darkness. She's the most important thing to him in this world that's cursed and poisoned. Her existence keeps him going. Keeps him alive and happy. Or some semblance of the latter emotion. After all, she is his only sister. When she slows he looks at her with a raised eyebrow. They've entered an area with no rules. Everywhere is dark. Not a single side lamp or street light to illuminate their location. This isn't what catches the siblings' eyes. It's the painted mural on the opposing wall. A delicate detailing of spiraling flames engulfing a city of lights.

"Mama would have loved this. She would've come up with a great story for it too."

"We can always show it to her, Ella. When we can Mama will come here. And I promise we can show her this. She'll love it."

"You're an amazing brother, Sebastian."

"And you're an amazing sister. Now please, can we go home?"

Finally, the girl sighs and allows him to lead her back home, although, she'd much rather run through the city, she knows it's also in her best interest to turn in for the night.

Mitchell's somehow managed to keep from getting pulled over. Doesn't exactly help that Aaron has brought the unconscious girl with them. To top it off, she hasn't woken even once since being hit. He's beginning to worry that he may have done some serious damage to her. In the passenger seat is Alex, mumbling about how they should just dump her somewhere and be done with it. Not that he has room to talk tonight. If not for the simple fact that Aaron is too far in the back to do anything to him, he'd probably have a busted lip or sore head. Unless one of the others is willing to switch seats with him, Alex is in a sense, safe for the time being.

"Alex, I suggest you shut your mouth before Aaron finds a way up here. I can't drive and pull him off you at the same time. So, until I have that capability, shut the hell up or you can walk home."

Alex's light blue eyes widen as he looks over at his companion. Mitchell only catches a glimpse of it before slamming on the brakes at a red light. From the back of the van fly several swears from the others.

"I swear, if I didn't know better, I'd think we let Eijinn drive. Thing is, he's back here being a weirdo, so it can't be him."

"Aaron, for a drunkard you sure sober up really quick. Next time I slam on the breaks I'll make sure you smack your head on the window. Might put you out cold. Now if you don't mind I'd like to not get pulled over tonight."

"Sucks to be you then, because I'm pretty sure Bryant just stuck his tatted ass out the window for all the world to see. And I drank more than him."

A groan and a yelp later the van is slowing to a stop beside a side street and Mitchell is fishing out the vehicle's registration as well as his license. Meanwhile, Bryant hiccups an apology that no one seems to understand.

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"Would it have something to do with one of my drunk passengers sticking his rear out the window while I'm driving?"

"At least you're aware. How many of you are in here?"

"There are seven of us. My five brothers, my sister, and myself."Alex lifts a brow as Mitchell hands over the license and registration. Before he can speak, someone smacks him upside the head.

"Jason! Leave Alex alone will you! Now is not the time!"

"Wasn't me."

"Aaron is in the far back of the car! Who else could it have been?!"

"Aaron. Who else would smack Alex in the head with police around."

Mitchell huffs and turns his attention back to the officer. In the back, Aaron smirks and leans back in his seat. Bryant follows suit, eyes cast down towards his feet. Jason returns to silent, trying to block out everything else. Eijinn is either passed out or just being quiet for once. No one can tell. And Alex... Well, Alex is still rubbing the spot on his head where he was hit. The officer shines his flashlight over them. Inspecting them.

"Is everyone here of drinking age?"

The light lingers on their unconscious guest, making Mitchell nervous.

"My sister isn't, but she and I didn't drink anything. We're coming from a house party."

"Right, well, I'll let you off with a warning this time. And maybe seatbelt your passengers. You all have a good evening."

The officer goes back to his car and Mitchell waits for him to drive off before pulling back into traffic. He's well aware of the childish snickering of a couple of the others. The awake ones. Shaking his head he ignores them. He just wants to get home safely and decide what to do with the girl he hit. Nothing bothers his conscious more than thinking he may have done something irreversible to a stranger. Or anyone for that matter. It finally goes quiet as everyone passes out one by one. Including Bryant. With them quiet he relaxes a bit. They're almost home. Just two more lights and they'll be in their neighborhood.

Upon arrival to their destination, Mitchell gently shakes Alex awake before getting out and sliding the back door open with caution. Jason is the first he wakes, tapping his leg and then stepping back. As Jason climbs out he smacks the back of Bryant's head. His own head lowered slightly so black bangs cover blue-gray eyes. Bryant simply looks at him with sleepy dark blue eyes before turning slightly to shake Aaron and Eijinn awake in the far back. Aaron's head snaps up, green eyes dark and brooding. It takes him a moment to gather himself. After which, he kicks Eijinn's leg to wake him before grabbing the young woman and climbing out. Eijinn finally manages to wake, copper eyes half-lidded and sleep-filled. With everyone out, Mitchell locks up the van. Excluding Mitchell, they all stumble in the house behind Alex, who's surprisingly managed to open the door by himself. Immediately, Mitchell ushers Aaron to the spare bedroom. It's the only room left with all the others being claimed or shared.

The design is simple with a queen-sized bed set center of one wall, double windows on another, and a full bathroom across from the bed. The bedding is lavender which is a vibrant difference from the bathroom's deep purple tiles on the floor. The walls of both rooms are pastel purple. The consequence of letting Alex pick the color scheme for the room. Aaron wastes no time in placing their injured guest on the bed and exiting the room behind Mitchell. The pair head straight for the living room where everyone else has managed to not land on a couch.

"For now we wait for her to wake up. Assuming she's not dead. Either way, there's not much we can do. She should be out for a bit. It's not like I hit her that hard, but considering she looks underweight and extremely sick there's no telling. If she doesn't wake up in a couple of hours, we take her to the hospital. Or rather I will."

"That would mean someone has to keep an eye on her."

"Shouldn't be too hard since several, if not all of you, will be vomiting all night. We'll take turns. Or figure something out."

Everyone groans at Mitchell's proposal, but as he said almost all of them get up to hurry to the nearest bathroom. He shakes his head and sits on the couch, tossing his head back against it attempting to let sleep take him for a while. Tonight might just be the longest night of his life. He's no longer certain that the dream they have is the best one for the way they live. He clenches his eyes tighter as the sounds of gagging and vomiting fill the house, tearing apart his thoughts. Surprised the girl doesn't wake to the noises. Himself, he would not be able to sleep through this, even if he'd been hit by a moving vehicle.

Ella and Sebastian make their way quietly through the alleyway leading to their house. Theirs is the only one on this street. It's decorated with various solar-powered lights in a multitude of colors and sizes. The porch light to their not so humble abode is on and they can see the silhouette of their father as he waits for their arrival. She sprints ahead of her brother, up the steps, and into her father's arms. Sebastian takes his time approaching the house. Knowing that the man may possibly be harsh with him for having Ella out so late, but also because being here makes him uncomfortable. Especially without his mother. He waits for Ella to go inside before stepping onto the porch. The man doesn't look angry. Then again, he's never been able to tell.

"Do I even want to know what the two of you got up to?"

"Nothing. She just ran around town despite the cold weather."

The older male sighs and shakes his head. He's used to this behaviour by now and at this point no longer has anything to say about the way they behave. He knows for certain that his daughter has a tendency to run around in the cold weather in short clothes. It's a wonder she hasn't gotten sick yet. The only thing he's more sure of his is step-sons ability to keep an eye on her. Although, he and Sebastian have never really seen eye to eye. Still don't, actually. Been that way since the boy was merely four years old. His father had left his mother by then and he'd just shown up in the boy's life. It may not have helped that he's part of the reason Sebastian's father left. Maybe if she had not gotten pregnant with Ella things would be different. That's in the past now. Regardless, he loves the boy as his own. It's unfortunate that the tension will most likely always be there. Still, he's grateful that he looks out for Ella.

"Thank you, for looking after her."

"I don't need to remind you that I'm not doing it for you, right?"

"When will you come to terms with what's happened? You were four. You can't hold onto it forever."

"And why not? Why shouldn't I? Because of you, my own father does not acknowledge my existence! You knocked up my mother and I have to suffer because of it! I was a child! A child! You think because you brought me here that I should just forget about it?! It changes nothing! I don't even remember what he looks like!"

Sebastian has had several outbursts over the years, but nothing quite like this. Nothing so real and undoubtedly true on a fundamental level that would hurt him. No everything has been said in passing with a sugary coating on top of it. Not tonight; tonight it's raw emotions and boiling blood. This is probably the first time he's been so outspoken about his life at all. Taken aback he lets Sebastian storm into the house. There's nothing he can say that will make the boy feel any better about his situation. From inside he can hear the door slam to Sebastian's room and Ella's startled screech. He sighs, looks around, and then up at the starry night sky. Something has to be done about the home's tension. Especially since he intends to bring their mother here.