~ Ten Months Later ~

The pounding of rain filled my ears as I stared wide-eyed at my boss. He returned my look with a solemn one.

"Please," I begged, clenching my fist. "You don't understand! I need this job! Without it, I can't support my brother and myself-"

"Harley," my boss snapped, silencing me instantly. "I can't have you coming to work late every day!"

"It's not every day!" I responded, raising my voice. "My brother just misbehaves sometimes and I have to deal with him first!"

My boss's expression hardened. "I'm sorry."

"But-"

"You're fired, Harley," my boss stated with an air of finality.

"If I don't have a job I can't pay the rent or grocery expenses!" I protested, tears gathering in my eyes.

"My best advice is that you let a foster family adopt you and your brother," my boss responded, looking uninterested. "And you should go back to school instead of working full time."

"I get home-schooled," I snapped, glaring at him. "And there's no way I'm going to take the chance of my brother and me being separated. He's all that I have!"

"Well, then, I'm sorry."

I glared at him. "At least I know what kind of man you are now! The kind that would fire a worker even though her life depends on the job!"

My boss... well, ex-boss now, sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Here I look for workers who work hard and actually show up on time. I'm sorry you couldn't follow those rules."

"But-"

"End of discussion. Please leave my office immediately."

I glared at him with the most hatred I could gather. I stood up, purposefully knocking over the chair in the process. Jaw clenched, I stomped towards the exit of the room.

"This is why you don't hire children," my ex-boss muttered to himself.

I slammed the door as hard as I could after I exited. Before I had even taken a step, someone ran into me, almost toppling me over. A strong grasp on my forearm saved me though, and I regained my balance.

I glanced up to see a familiar blonde smirking down at me. His blue eyes twinkled with amusement.

"Whoa there," Seth, my ex-coworker and friend, said. "What's the rush?"

"I was fired," I told him, tears spilling down my face.

"What?" Seth gasped, his eyes widening, all traces of amusement gone. "Why?"

"Because I was late to work too many times," I said bitterly, wiping away the tears that had escaped. I was stronger than this.

"Doesn't he understand your circumstances?" Seth said in outrage, fury filling his eyes. "Hold on, let me talk to him!"

"No," I said quickly, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to work for a man like him anyway."

"But, Harley..."

I shook my head. "I have enough money in the bank for this month's rent, so it's okay. I just need to find another job, and quick."

Seth still looked angry, but he let out a deep sigh. "I wish I could help."

I laughed slightly, smiling at him. "Don't worry about it, I'll be okay. But anyway, I'm going to go rescue Will from Elliot... I'm sure he wouldn't mind a day off."

Seth grinned. "Tell them I said hi."

I returned his grin. "Will do."

"Seth!" someone called from the front of the shop. "Where are those cupcakes?"

"I've got them right here!" Seth called back, a frown appearing on his face. "Geez, they never give me a break," he muttered, rolling his eyes.

I giggled, punching him lightly on the arm. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright," he responded, heaving a sigh. "Careful on your way home."

"I will be," I responded, moving around him, towards the employee room.

I went to my locker and grabbed my coat, shrugging it on. Standing on my tiptoes, I checked to see if I had anything in my locker I didn't want to leave behind. There were only a few candy bar wrappers in it. I decided to leave those there.

After grabbing my umbrella, I slammed my locker door shut once last time. I didn't look back as I left the room, and walked straight out of the bakery. They wouldn't be having me as a customer again.

I opened my umbrella before stepping out into the downpour. Scowling, I made my way down the street, stepping in many puddles. I hated rain. Everything bad happened when it rained. Today was no different.

The walk to my apartment only took ten minutes, but during those ten minutes, I had become incredibly cold. It was October! It shouldn't be freezing out! I hurried up the steps of the apartment building, entering its warmth.

Instead of going straight to my apartment, I went to Will's. I knocked on the door and after a moment the brown-haired, twenty-seven year old opened the door. His green eyes widened in surprise.

"Harley? What are you doing here?"

"I got fired," I muttered, pushing past him and into the apartment.

"You got fired?" Will responded in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because a certain someone's little brother made her late to work one too many times," I responded, pursing my lips.

Speaking of the devil, my little brother suddenly appeared. He raced up to me, clinging to my leg, a goofy grin on his face. His semi-curly brown hair fell into his face, and he had to shake it away so he could see me.

"Pig!" he cried, his bright blue eyes gazing up at me happily.

I frowned back down at him. "I told you to stop calling me Pig!"

"No! Pig is Pig," he stated stubbornly.

I scowled at the five-year old. Pig was what my mom used to call me because I ate a lot. I guess it had stuck with my brother. It wasn't a nickname I particularly enjoyed.

"You're back early," Elliot said, still smiling. "Why?"

"Um, I got a day off," I responded, not wanting to have to explain what happened. Explaining things to toddlers was not fun.

"So we can play?"

"We can play," I said with a laugh. "I just need to talk with Will for a moment."

My brother nodded in excitement. "I'll go get it started!"

He ran off, probably to go turn on the Wii, his latest obsession. I turned back to Will with a sigh, flopping onto the couch. The soft, plush cushions were very relaxing.

"I don't know how you can put up with all his energy all the time," I started, watching as Will took a seat on the recliner across from me.

"I'm not that old," he pointed out.

"I still feel bad for leaving him with you all the time. Doesn't he distract you when you have to write?"

Will shook his head. "Not at all. He's easily entertained. And you shouldn't feel bad. I'm the one who offered to watch him when you have to work. I don't see why you just won't let me adopt you two..."

I smiled, rolling my eyes. "I can support the two of us. You do enough. You watch Elliot almost all the time, you home-school me, and you cook dinner for us almost every night."

"Which is basically like I'm your father anyway," Will pointed out with a grin. "Think about it. You could go to normal school again and-"

I shook my head, cutting him off. "I like my life."

"Really?"

"Really," I responded, looking him straight in the eye. "After losing my parents I realized family is what's most important. I want Elliot and I to stay together. And not going to high school, well... the part about not having a lot of friends kind of sucks, but at least I don't have to deal with the drama. And I don't have to wake up too early all the time either."

Will grinned at me. "I like your attitude."

"You say that all the time," I pointed out, a smile slipping onto my face.

"But it's true," Will insisted. "Even after all the tragic events in your life, you managed to not only stay as positive as possible through all of the ordeals, but after your parents died you didn't hesitate to drop out of high school and start working so you and Elliot wouldn't be separated. It's very admirable, and not many people could do it."

I blushed, clearing my throat. "It's not that big of a deal..."

"And now you're being modest."

I scowled at Will, crossing my arms. "Whatever. I need to start looking for a job right away."

Will gave me a worried look. "Are you okay with this month's rent? I can pay if you-"

"I have it," I interrupted, shaking my head. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm not going to take your money."

"But..."

"So, has your editor asked about your manuscript lately?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

Will's face instantly paled. "Unfortunately, yes. She wants it by next Monday. I'm not even close to being done!"

I laughed out loud. Will was always like this- waiting until the last second to finish his manuscript so it could be turned in to be published. He was a writer, and a good one at that. That's how he managed to look after Elliot for me all the time: He worked at home.

"Well keep working on it," I urged him, smirking. "We don't want a repeat of last time..."

The last time his editor was here when the manuscript wasn't finished I thought I was going to witness a murder. Kate, his editor, had screamed at him for five minutes straight about responsibilities and deadlines. It was actually very entertaining. I chuckled at the memory. Will pursed his lips at me, guessing what I was thinking about.

"There won't be a repeat," he stated stubbornly. "I'll get it done in time."

I smirked. "Sure you will."

"I will!"

I ignored him, getting up, and walking over to the computer desk. I sat down in the swivel chair, spinning around to face Will's laptop. I opened it and hit the power button. I felt Will's presence hovering above me a few minutes later.

"Yes?" I questioned, looking up at him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to apply to a few jobs," I told him, typing in his password, and logging in. "The sooner I get one, the better."

"Ah," he responded, moving away from me.

"Pig!"

I swiveled the chair around to look at Elliot, who was frowning at me.

"Yes?"

"I thought we were playing!"

I made a face. Shoot. I forgot I promised him I'd play with him. Turning to Will, I gave him a pleading look. He smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Pig is kind of busy, so why don't I play with you instead?"

"Okay!" my brother responded sounding excited.

"Don't call me Pig!" I called at the pair of them as they walked away.

I heard Will laugh in response and I scowled. That nickname was so unfitting! I didn't eat that much anymore... Okay, I thought with sigh, that was a lie. I probably ate too much... But I wasn't even fat!

I turned back to the computer, gazing at the screen. Forest green eyes appeared in the reflection, and I stared at them for a moment. Were my eyes really that green? The desktop background appeared, making my reflection disappear. I waited a moment before clicking the Firefox symbol.

I brought up Google, frowning as I thought of place to apply to first. Tapping the keys absentmindedly, I finally decided I would start with the most known stores. I typed in Walmart first. It was better than nothing.

Two grueling hours later, I had applied to five different stores. One that would hopefully hirer a seventeen-year-old girl full time. Not many stores did that though. The bakery had been my exception, but now I was fired from it.

"Geez mom, dad. Couldn't you have just been rich and make things easier?" I joked out loud, gazing up at the ceiling.

It had almost been a year since their death. I've had people call me cold for being so optimistic after losing both of my parents, but they were wrong. I missed my parents like crazy; no one could understand how much I missed them. But I knew they wouldn't want me becoming a depressed person. I didn't want to be either.

And so I became who I was today. Happy-go-lucky, optimistic Harley Allen.

I glanced out the window, a soft sigh escaping my lips. It was still pouring. I really hated the rain...

_____________________________________________

So, this isn't going to be a depressing story. I just don't like those. This is going to be more of a romantic comedy... with some action. Like all my stories (excluding HITS) haha. I just wanted to try to write a sad scene, because obviously there's bound to be some in a story. But apparently I could :D Yay!

Anyway, I know this chapter is boring, but it'll start getting better, I promise! Just wait until she actually starts teaching at the school, haha. Boy do I have some awesome plans... Anyway.

I'M ENTERING THIS STORY IN THE WATTY AWARDS! Yep! You read that in all it's capital glory! I finally decided to enter a story into that contest. So please support me by voting, commenting, tweeting, and facebook-liking! Please, please, please, and thank you! :)

[Today's Song: Dear Maria, Count Me In by All Time Low]