black and blue ;

“i thought so.” he stated as he shook his head. “as long as you had a good reason, you should be fine. they can’t suspend you for too long.” del began to walk to the stairs in their house. “tip number one, always take your prized possessions off before you start fighting. nothing ever comes out clean.” he quickly was up the stairs to soon return with five different sets of clothes and some first aid supplies. “i didn’t know what you would want, but we’re all pretty varied in sizes here. my sisters are kind of smaller so if you want something more close to your size, i’d recommend them. if you want something bigger, loto and my clothes are there too. mix and match, take them as they are. you can do whatever with them.” he stated as he sit the stack of clothes on the couch. 

“i sure hope not,” rowan sighed, listening closely to his advice. “geez, i thought y’were gonna yell at me an’ tell me not to go pickin’ fights again. not give me advice,” she smiled shyly, letting her eyes wander around the room as he disappeared up the stairs. she eyed the clothes he brought back, tentatively looking through them and eventually deciding on a baggy sweatshirt she could pull down over the rip in her leggings. her foster parents were gonna kill her. “i---thanks,” she glanced down to the floor.

“squirrels are always reasonable cases.” del pursed his lips and stepped to the side. “come in.” he started to walk from the door after inviting her in. “what did you do to get suspended?” he had a guess, but he didn’t want to speak without knowing if he was right. “do you want to change clothes? i can get you some. we have plenty laying around this place.”

rowan hesitated in the doorway before eventually giving in and following the boy inside. “i got in a fight,” she muttered, standing in the foyer and looking around. “t’wasn’t a fair one. i shouldn’t’a started it.” she nodded softly at his offer of a change of clothes, hoping there was actually something her size. “this was my favorite hoodie an’ they ruined it.”

del rarely skipped school. he had his boundaries on the stuff he was going to do — and quite frankly he loved learning too much to just skip school. but today was an exception. he couldn’t find the motivation to get up and get ready to go. why not take the day off? the male had been lounging on the couch when he heard the knock. he got up and went to the door. he wasn’t expecting to see the familiar girl on the other side. “hey, kid. ” he asked as he raised a brow in confusion. “whoa. you didn’t get attacked by a squirrel or something, did you? you look rough.”

“a squirrel?” rowan laughed softly but quickly stopped herself when it caused a pain in her side. “uh, no. i mighta’ gotten suspended for doin’ something. and---well, i didn’t know where t’go. cause’ goin’ back home isn’t really an option ‘till i get fixed up.”

rowan rubbed her head, biting her lip and wandering aimlessly down the streets. she knew going home wasn’t an option, but she’d gotten kicked out of school before the first bell, and she wasn’t quite sure where she was supposed to go. a skateboard in a driveway happened to catch her eye and it took her a few seconds to place where she recognized it from. figuring she had nothing better to do, she wandered up to the doorstep and hesitated a few moments before knocking. 

he frowned a bit at the girls words, but didn’t press. ‘oh. ‘m sorry.” jack shrugged again. “that sucks. maybe you should put ‘em in a plastic sandwhich bag, so then they won’t fall out anymore.“

“that’s a good idea,” rowan nodded softly. “have y’ever had one of the sandwiches the lunch lady gives you if y’tell her you forgot your lunch? cause’ they’re disgusting.”

“vending machine lunches are not my favorite, but sometimes they have granola bars? but if you can’t find anything healthy, at least find something yummy.”

“i know. i usually just skip lunch but today i was real hungry. granola bars are good. or trail mix. they should make a healthy vendin’ machine, with fruit and stuff.”

“oh its no big deal honey, just keep the change someplace so you have a backup in case you forget again.”

“i can bring you back the change,” rowan shook her head. “i really don’t wanna take your money or anythin.’ you’re being awful nice.”

“i’m sorry to hear that.” olly sighed, feeling bad for the younger girl as everyone deserves loving parents. “it won’t be that much. i’m just not letting you get food from a vending machine as it’s mostly just candy in there. you need more. well, i’m olly. now i’m not a stranger anymore.”

“oh, no, i don’t mean t’complain or anythin,’” rowan quickly shook her head, taking it back. “are y’sure? you’re not gonna say i owe you anythin’ afterwards?”

“that’s admirable and i can totally see where you’re coming from. i don’t think it really matters how you get them because you’ll still love them as your own. i don’t think you’re crazy.” he smiled softly. “that’s a good nickname to have. but probably also annoying when everyone keeps singing that song, right?”

“yeah. there’s some foster families that don’t love their foster kids as much, but i really don’t think that’s gonna be me. i love all babies, even though i’ve got none of my own yet. i wanna help ‘em, y’know?” she smiled softly. “oh, well, my mom had’a lotta things wrong with her that i might give t’my kids, if i had ‘em naturally. an’ i don’t want any of ‘em to turn out like she did,” she shrugged it off. “singing? oh, yeah, totally. but it could probably be worse. my mom’s name was joy an’ they always sang ‘joy to the world,’ an’ it made her super mad.”

“honestly, i’m not sure. ben and i haven’t really talked about it, actually.” taylor shrugged, “i think when he’s old enough to decide, he’ll have that choice.” he nodded slowly, “she’s a friend of mine from harvard and she offered… and it seemed like a good fit.”

“wow, harvard? that’s gonna be one smart baby,” rowan laughed softly. “d’ya think it’s hard for her havin’ to give up the baby, even though she knows it’s goin’ t’live with good people?”

“alright, if you don’t take the money you should at least take the bag for later. just in case.”

“are y’sure? i don’t wanna take anythin’ from you. really. what if you need it?”

“That happens to me to”Adeline smiled. “‘Cept they’re mostly blue almost always” she tried to explain. “Yeah that would be really cool…if you don’t mind that is.”

“y’look a lot like her,” rowan nodded softly. “when she was young, at least.” she paused for a moment. “oh, i think if y’google her name, she had a facebook page, too. look up joy moretti.”