3 months later
MORNING


Sasha slouched while she walked up the grassy field to school today. It was the dreaded day of the math test given by merciless Mr Tormell that she had studied so hard for in first period. Luckily, Sasha had this class with Lucas, who was now her inseparable best bud. As for Chris, he was simply happy that he was already great friends with Lucas, because otherwise, he would have been shut out almost completely every day. The same goes for all the rest of their friends. [Well, the guy friends anyway.] By now, everyone knew that Sasha was a very big tomboy. She played all the sports like a guy, she hung out like guys, she talked like a guy, she even acted like a guy. And still, all the guys were always flirting with her, trying to win her. Guys always thought of girls as a prize, and that's why she never let any of them get to her. She wasn't a prize, she was the prize winner.

Sasha had to give the guys at least a little credit, though. They all cooperated perfectly around her, and at the same time, all simultaneously flirted 24/7 with her. She just ignored it, and yet, they did it again the next day.

“Hey, hot stuff. How's it going?” Lucas jogged up to Sasha, his book bag bouncing furiously behind him.

“Hi, Lucas.” Sasha had gotten very quickly over her crush on Lucas. But... for a little while, he had known about her, and he had taken advantage of it. He was now convinced forever that he had the advantage over his friends. But, no one else knew about it, and they tried endlessly still. Even though that she was never flattered or anything, it was still funny, and she loved having this particular group of friends anyway.

“Aww, what's wrong with my baby?” Lucas asked, making a pouting face. He slid his arm around Sasha's waist, and hugged her close to him. “It'll be ok. I'll make it ok.” He consoled. His voice was of the classic baby voice. Very close to mockery, but just barely behind the line.

“What's wrong, is there's a math test today in Mr Tormell's, and she doesn't like tests in the first place, even though she's going to ace it with ease.” complimented Skye as he strolled lightly up to them. Sasha didn't know how, but even though she was tall for her age [5Ǝ” ½ ], Skye was always taller than her. During the last three months, she had experienced a growth spurt, and yet, Skye was still just above her, making it perfect for him, because that way, he was able to pick her up and away from Lucas. And that's just what he did.

“Whoooaaaaaaaa! Skye, what's wrong with you???” Screamed Sasha, trying to squirm out onto the ground. Skye's grip was firm. She couldn't get out. Humph. Sasha thought stubbornly. He's holding me like a fricking baby. I'm not a baby. I might as well get comfortable, cause it's unlikely that he'll put me down until we get directly in front of the school.

“Come on, Sasha. Chill.” Skye said, looking down at her. Then he dropped her for a split second, giving the impression that she was falling. She didn't scream. She never screamed, no matter how hard the guys tried. She just clung to Skye's neck with all her might. [She insists it was out of pure instinct, but Skye thinks that she's starting to like him.]

“Skye, you're cruel! You don't play fair! Go by the rules, like the rest of the guys.” Sasha said, hitting his chest, but laughing. Sasha was a good hitter.

“Ow! Hey! Quit! Sasha! Hey!” Skye yelled, trying to defend himself against Sasha without using his hands. Meanwhile, Lucas laughed so hard, that he was rolling in the grass.

“Whoa, go Sasha! Yeah, beat him up! Sa-sha! Sa-sha!” Chanted Chris, coming up to them from around the school where the bike locks were. Sasha saw this as an opportunity to try and jump off onto the ground again, and this time she succeeded. Skye looked next to heartbroken, but everyone knew it was an act. His face was so sad, it was funny.

Sasha had just started to open her mouth to say something funny, when a big, muscled hand covered her mouth, and dragged her backward suddenly. Then, with absolutely no warning, the hand thrust her head down with tons of force. WHAT TH-- Sasha's thoughts were cut off by a feeling of floating, of weightlessness. Sasha couldn't even think straight enough to process what the feeling was like. She couldn't process that she couldn't process any thought. After a while of her subconsciousness wandering aimlessly around, not knowing what it's purpose is anymore, she heard very faded voices, as if they were miles away.

“ Oh my god! She blacked out! Oh my god!” Someone was screaming. Sasha could tell the difference between screaming, but she couldn't figure out why it sounded so quiet. As she listened, she realized all of the voices around her were talking about her.

“You d*** head! You--”

“Shut up! I think she's coming to.”

“Sasha! Hey, baby, can you hear me?” That voice is Dillon.

“Sasha? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! Please don't die!” That one's Derek. That little son of a bum. I'm gonna kill him.

“Hey, if I picked you up again, would you hold onto my neck? Please?” Of course, Skye. And lastly...

The next voice was closer than the others. Maybe he was whispering in her ear. “Sasha, honey, I know you're in there. You gotta come back. I need you. All the guys need you. You're the only one we can flirt with and not get slapped, remember? We need you.” Haha! Same old Lucas. Always needs to crack a joke. Even when i can't feel my body. Wait.... now I can feel my body! I have feeling!!! Screamed Sasha in her head as she bolted upright. Remembering what Lucas had just said in her ear, Sasha felt the need to bring her hand back, and slap Lucas across his face – lightly, of course. He laughed, ignoring the minuscule sting it left on his cheek, and embraced her in a hug, knocking her over again. This time, he let go quicker than you could blink, and started yelling.

“Sasha! Sasha! Don't go away! Hey, stay with us!” He screamed into her face. Sasha was at the disadvantage though, because this time, she was still wide awake.

“I'm not going anywhere! In case you haven't noticed, you've got me pinned!!” She screamed into Lucas' face.

“Oh. Thanks for telling me.” Lucas said quietly, noticing that he was straddling her, and he hastened to get up off of her. Once he did, Lucas extended a hand to Sasha, but was beat to the chase by Chris, who was picking up Sasha by her arms and raising her to a standing position.

“Gee, thanks, Chris.” Sasha said. Chris smiled, thinking he had earned some bonus points with Sasha. Oh, my boys. Sasha laughed in her thoughts. They'll never change. Ever.

As the group of friends approached the front doors of the school, Mrs Baxter, the Principal who knew all about their friendship, was holding the door open for kids. Skye had his arm around Sasha's waist on her right, Lucas had his arm around her waist from her left, Derek [the extra flirty one] was fiddling with her hair from behind her, and at the moment Dillon and Chris were left out, so they were talking about her “hotness”. Principal Baxter had already talked to the group about their “friendly, and very physical relationship”, but they ignored her. So, she let the issue drop after a few conferences. She figured that they weren't doing anything other than that, so she could assume they were ok. Sasha smiled as she passes through the doorway, and said a kind, “Thanks” to Mrs Baxter. That's the typical Sasha. Always being nice to everyone. Even the teachers. Dillon thought, wishing he had her to himself.

“Sasha, can I talk to you for a second please?” Dillon asked suddenly, the words pouring out of his mouth without his permission.

“Yeah, sure. Wait here, guys. Don't go hiding in a corner somewhere, k?” Sasha told the rest of her friends, then went over to the opposite side of the bustling hall with Dillon. “What is it?” She asked. He shuffled his feet, and squirmed a little.

“Uh... do you... maybe...... you know..... are you at least considering my first offer?” He asked, anxious of her answer. Seriously, why five guys like me so much, I'll never know. Sasha thought once he had asked this.

“Dillon... you know what I'm going to say, don't you.” Sasha began gently, the same way she had talked to Skye, Chris, Lucas, Dillon and Derek each at least once already. “If I dated one of you, then the other four would find the guy in his bed one night, and kill him in his sleep. And, I don't know if I could live with only one of my boys.” She said, taking him into a friendly headlock. “Ok?” She finished. Dillon nodded solemnly and allowed her to drag him by his arm back to their circle of friends.

“Oooh, did poor Dillon get rejected?” Derek teased. Everyone in their group knew that Sasha didn't tolerate that kind of teasing, and now she proved it again.

“Derek!” She shouted, sharply. She definitely got his attention. He started backing away, saying that, “Hey, I was only joking, honey.” But Sasha had seen him tease Dillon, and once was enough to set her off.

“You know for a fact that I do not and will not take that from you, or anyone else!” Sasha screamed, backing him against the wall of the school. He leaned his head back even further until it connected with the window. Now he was cornered. Now he would get it.

“Derek Boehme! You twerp! Do you remember when you got rejected? No one teased you, saying that you're not good enough, that you're no better than anyone else! You should give the same resp--”

Derek cut Sasha off by putting two fingers to her mouth, but that barely stopped her. She simply tried to bite his fingers, and then continued. “You should give the same respect to the people who respected you! How would you like it if I gave complete permission to everyone to tease and torment you when you tried to flirt to get me to go out with you! How would you like a taste of your own medicine!” Derek waited patiently, only half listening to Sasha as she went on. When she stopped for breath, he asked,

“You done?”He was pretty patient-sounding when he said it, but Sasha could just barely tell that there was a hint of impatience under his mask.

“Humph. I guess I'm done.” She concluded that if that wouldn't sink the picture into his thick skull, she didn't know what would other than demonstration. That would be a last resort, though.

They all walked into two separate classes that happen to be next to each other. She, Lucas, and Skye were in Mr Tormell's class, with his bloody math tests. Dillon, Derek, and Chris went to the room right next door, where Mrs Grizwald [nicknamed Griz] was waiting. The group said their goodbyes for first period, and then divided into the two classes.
***
LUNCH

When lunch had finally rolled around, Sasha was exhausted from laughing in Mr Sweet's class, and running laps in gym. So was everyone else, since they all had those two classes together.

“Hey, what do you guys say we eat outside today?” proposed Chris from the middle of the group that was now a single file line, waiting to pick out lunch.

“Sure, why not. It's warmer than it usually is today.” agreed Derek. Everyone else mutually decided that they would eat at their usual 3 tables under the Maple tree.

When everyone was situated and conversing lightly, Sasha slipped away after she finished her usual plate of a Caesar salad, dinner roll, orange juice, and small tomato soup. She had ditched the clam chowder about two months ago. It made her sick. Anyway, she snuck away this almost every day, each time going somewhere new on the campus. This time, she went to sit on the steps leading up to the main front doors. Her group of friends rarely used these; who knows why.

When Sasha had sat herself down on a stair three from the bottom and she had been spacing out contentedly, she felt a tap on her shoulder that brought her back to reality. She tipped her head back to see who it was and what they wanted, when she was met with a face she didn't recognize. It was a boy, and he had long dark brown wavy hair, the same color of eyes, tanned skin, and he was wearing a smile that showed off his white teeth. He introduced himself.

“Hiya. I'm Jake Tanner. I'm new today, and you're the first person I saw that goes here, so... Hi.” He smiled again, and Sasha thought that her group of friends was just fine the way it was. So, she replied warmly,

“It's great to meet you, Jake. I'm Sasha Daytonna.” Then after a split second of debate, she added, “What are you?”

Jake's look of utter befuddlement reminded Sasha of when she was new. She clarified quickly. “Are you a jock, nerd, band geek, club addict, teacher's pet/brain, punk, emo, goth, or a loner?” His face instantly changed to wonder.

“I'm a bit of an artist, so where would that put me? I've got ok grades. I don't exactly get straight A's, or straight F's.” Sasha thought for a minute, and then answered with confidence.

“You'd be a bit of a loner, but we do have an art club. You're not a club addict, but you're in one, so... you're a normie.”

“Normie...” repeated Jake, as if trying it on for size. “Ok. I can go with that.” He concluded.

“Sasha! Sasha! Where'd you go! Sasha!” screamed Dillon from far away.

“Be right there!” She yelled back. “Uh... I should probably get going. Maybe I'll see you around, Jake. Nice meeting you.”

“Yeah, you too.” Jake watched Sasha go, and then sat down next to the spot where she used to be.
***
AT HOME


“Mom!! I'm home! I'll be in my room!” yelled Skye from the top of the stairs.

“Ok! Do your homework, and don't take food up there unless you throw away the garbage! I found an orange peel in your dresser last week that was walking and talking.”

“I doubt it mom, but I'll try.” Skye laughed. His mom would never stop making him laugh.

B-b-b-r-rriiinnnnnnnggg! Skye's room phone practically danced. Oooh, if that's a salesman with a funky accent, I've got a new line all ready for 'em.

“Helllooo, how is the good citizen that answered their phone this lovely afternoon?” rang out a cheery voice with -guess what- a funky accent. Skye smiled happily. Even if it wasn't a salesman, he was dying to prank someone.

“Ellloooo to you too! This is Mr Gurkellsplabtarictularre! How may I be of service?” He matched the man's accent, even though he had no idea where it came from. Skye had to stifle a laugh.

“Uh.... I was going to, um... sell a... I was selling, a, um... say, how do you spell that name?” Now Skye switched from crazy-dude mode, to angry-dude mode. In the same funky accent, He said,

“Bah, humbug! You old farts are always calling and emailing me with these blasted, bloody, nubbly ads for all sorts of fudly crud! I want no more! You hear me?! No more!!” With that, Skye slammed his phone onto the receiver. There was no holding back his hysterics now. Doubling over onto the bed, Skye became breathless, but he couldn't stop laughing. Not even when his phone rang again, and Derek's voice was on the answering machine after five rings.

“Hey, dude... I just called your house, and your mom told me you were up here, so unless you're taking a shower or laughing yourself blue, answer the phone, man.”

“Ok. Ok. I'm good. I'm here.” Skye was still heaving, and he could practically see Derek's eye's rolling.”Yeah, I was laughing myself blue. I just pranked a salesman so bad, I bet he'll go home and cry to his mommy, right after he gets fired.

“You're good. You're very good. Did you use the line you told me about a while ago?”

“Ohhhh, yeah. Definitely, man. He was practically asking for it.” Skye was grinning so wide, if his dentist saw him it would have been proclaimed impossible. “Uh... hey, man. I gotta go. Skye said suddenly. His entire face and voice had changed, because he'd seen something outside his window.

“Whoa, ok. See you tomorrow at school. Bye.” The phone clicked off. Skye let it drop onto his bed, never looking away from his window. Outside in the alley across from his window, a little girl was sitting against the wall, head in her knees, and crying. Her clothes looked like they were three sizes too big, they weren't hers, and they weren't in good shape. Whoa! This town is too small for hobos! I've gotta do something. I can't just leave a little kid crying in some alley. I've gotta go get her. I've gotta get Sasha too. She's good with kids. Skye grabbed his phone and dialed Sasha's number [he had it on speed dial].

“Hiya Skye.” Came her voice. He barely waited for her to finish speaking the words.

“Sasha, you gotta get over here, now! There's a little girl and she's crying and she's in the alley and i don't know what to do because she looks like she could be a hobo's kid! Get over here, now!”

“Ok, ok! I'm coming.” Skye didn't hear the phone beep, because he had already thrown it on his bed. He ran down the stairs to the kitchen. He figured if she was a hobo kid, she'd probably be hungry. Skye grabbed two bottled waters, some leftover pizza from his fridge, and an orange off his table. Snatching his old school sweatshirt, Skye put the makeshift meal on a paper plate and went to watch for Sasha. She would be there any minute on her bike. K, here she comes. She is so hot when her hair blows like that. No! I can't think about that now. Skye met Sasha at his porch and together, they went carefully and slowly towards the crying girl across the road.
***
THE NEXT DAY


“Oh my god... I mean, just... oh, my, god.” Derek said, sullen-faced. He put an arm around Sasha, and pulled her against him. “If you need me, my arms will always be open.”

“Yes, I'm sure.” Sasha said humorously. She gently detached herself. Holding open one of the school's double doors, she said to everyone, “Remember that girl Skye and I told you guys about? The one who said her name was Sage?” The boys all nodded. “Well, we also took her to a police station after we fed her. She has no records anywhere. They didn't even know she existed. Sage was very cooperative; she said that the trees outside of town had been a home to her ever since she could remember. When an officer asked if there was any family, she started to cry again. I think that was the reason she was crying in the alley. Maybe she has no family.” Sasha paused to take a breath, and noticed that all the boys hadn't said anything. She decided to wrap up her little recap before one [or more] of them broke down and cried. “She stopped after a little bit. The officers told me they would take her to an orphanage and get her an ID and all that jazz. She'll be a normal kid soon.”

Those words seemed to break all the guys from a spell. “Well, that's great Sasha, but why are you telling us?” said Derek, his usual sarcastic look back on his face.

“Yeah, dude. It's fine and dandy that a girl's living in the trees with no family. Whoop-de-doo.” agreed Chris.

“Whatever.” was all Lucas said.

“Hey, I just thought you guys might wanna know. But since you don't, I don't mind not telling you.”

“We honestly don't care about your homeless kid, Sash.” Skye stated smugly. Derek and Dillon nodded in agreement.

“Ok. Come on, guys. Let's go to class.” Sasha smiled. Sure, the guys didn't care on the outside, but if they had seen their own faces, they would be turning on each other.
***
MIDNIGHT


Sasha yawned. Still squinting her eyes from the sudden flash of light, she looked out her window to see a thunderstorm taking place. Oh my god. Stupid [BOOM] thunder and lightning. I just want to sleep, and they don't let me. ... I'm hungry.

She decided that a glass of water and a mini-orange would help her to go to sleep again. Gripping the handrail on her stairs, she started to stumble/walk down her stairs. Later, she would wish she never did.

“Dinnng, donnnnnng, dinnng donnnnnnnnnng.” Who the hell is at the front door at fricking Midnight?!! Sasha actually considered yelling through the door, “Go away!” but that would have been rude. She opened the door and rubbed her eyes at the same time. She was still very tired. She didn't have time to take her hand away from her eyes though, because a solid hand yanked both behind her back, grabbed her shoulder, and pinned her to the ground. Straddling Sasha, the person whispered in her ear, “

Don't move or speak. You'll regret it.” Their voice was low and husky. Not at all like any of her friends. Ok, I would have taken all six being extra flirty than this, whatever this is. Please, let my friends spontaneously burst through the door and beat this guy up. Please, please, please, please...

Those were Sasha's last rational thoughts before the kidnapper pulled her head back and forced a white cloth under her nose, loaded with chloroform. Then everything got rapidly fuzzy, and eventually faded into unconscious blackness.
***
End of Part Two. I told you it would get better! Part three will come soon. =)