Celia Emerson

Age: 16

Looks: thick red auburn hair to waist, hazel eyes, skinny figure

Back-story: She is the Emerson brothers' cousin on the father's side who has lived with them since she was seven years old. Her parents were killed in a car crash.

Chapter start

She hadn't wanted to move. Of course none of them had wanted to. But Celia had one hundred percent not wanted to move and not because she wanted to stay with her uncle. The fact that he had cheated on Lucy filled her with a queasy disgust and it multiplied when she considered that his little mistress was now his new wife. The ink had barely dried on the divorce papers before he had a new marriage license.

Celia hadn't wanted to move because she had thought she was falling in love, something at sixteen she thought was very important like most of her now miles away friends. Kyle had been a guy in Michael's class and had fit all her criteria. He was sunny and golden with a sense of humor and athletic. And maybe just maybe at the bottom of her heart the fact Michael was so against it had egged her on slightly.

While she was flying over the moon and sipping the nectar of young love her family was fracturing around the edges. It had been the night of her very first kiss that she came home to the first major fight between Lucy and her uncle. The happiness had evaporated. And it hadn't come back as they all packed their things and the legal separation started up.

Kyle had been acting funny too when she couldn't get out to see him, she thought worriedly. He had said that long distance could work and had promised to come and visit in a few weeks after they had settled in. Michael had stopped trying to stop her and had instead become sullen whenever she brought Kyle up. But now with how Kyle had been acting…

I hope everything is okay, she thought sulkily.

When Michael nudged her she followed his gaze. Proudly on the back of a sign it stated that Santa Carla was the murder capital of the world. It was in graffiti red and somewhat uneven. Celia blinked at it and Michael looked thoughtful. But Sam looked put-off by it, his mouth agape before he turned around the front again.

The house was bigger than Celia remembered. She had been there once or twice in early childhood around the time she had fallen into the Emerson custody. At the time the old lady had still been alive too. There was a vague and niggling remembrance of warm moist cookies and attempted hugs that had fallen short when she scuttled away.

Now though it seemed a strange place to be. She was a little put off by its rustic feel. Being a city girl had bred her to apartments and parks, not a two story wood house with more yard space then she thought needed. And was that a stuffed moose?

There were even well carved pieces of trees into animals, the funniest being a carved bear holding a bottle.

While the others wandered to the porch Celia turned to glance out at the large field. There were three horses she saw and Nanook rushed out happily with a wild bark.

"He looks dead," she heard Michael comment. It was enough to get her heading up to join them, pausing beside Sam and dropping an arm casually on his shoulder while she too leaned over the old guy curiously.

"If he's dead can we go back to Phoenix?"

Lucy looked up at Sam sharply and Celia controlled her small smile that wanted to pop up. She caught movement from the corner of her eye and jumped into Sam who caught her around the arm. The old guy had lifted his head.

"Playing dead," he boasted. "And from what I hear doing a good job of it."

Michael and Sam were now openly laughing at her and Celia flushed a little, tucking some hair behind her ear.

Then she smiled. "Shut up."

While Michael and Sam rushed up the stairs to do bedroom claims Celia moved slower with her own luggage. She didn't have any real urge to go getting in the middle of all that mess. She picked the room across the hall from Sam's and dropped her suitcase on the bed. It was smaller than her old room but it had some great closet space and for her that was a good thing.

Sam rushed past her on the stairs down and she flattened to the wall. Rather than go by her Michael vaulted over them and chased Sam around.

"Hey guys, no running in the house!" Lucy had come in with two hats on her head and some clothes in her hand.

Sam wasn't listening though and he opened a set of doors. Celia felt her eyes go wide as she glanced at the red tinted light coming from the room that was… well…

"Talk about the chainsaw massacre," Michael joked and Sam laughed. Celia heaved a sigh and glanced away.

"Rules."

All three teenagers looked up at the old guy. He gave them all firm looks. "We got some rules here."

With his hand he beckoned them and they all wandered to the kitchen where he flung open the fridge and gestured.

"Now the second shelf is mine. That's where I keep my root beer and double thick cookies. Nobody touches the second shelf but me." He shut the door firmly despite the fact Sam was leaning on it.

There was more but Celia didn't follow them. She remained in the kitchen and gazed out the window.

There was a part of her that knew her moping was just a stubborn act at this point. Yes, she was missing her friends, her boyfriend and the pulling flow of the city. But it couldn't be so bad being where she was.

Later that night they decided to go to the boardwalk. Celia had changed from the outfit she'd been wearing and into a simple white dress with a flowing skirt that came to her thighs. Her boots were knee high doe colored suede. Before they left she grabbed the leather jacket that Kyle had given her the first time he's kissed her. It was a darker brown then her boots but they worked together and he had said that her wearing it meant she was still his.

Michael tightened his lips when he saw it but he bit his tongue. He wanted nothing more than to make Celia see just what kind of guy she had gotten involved with but he had a feeling his words wouldn't do any good.

"You wanna ride with me," he asked instead.

"Sure." Celia smiled as he started his bike and revved it. Oddly enough she would always prefer to be in the bitch seat rather than be in control herself. Celia always got a queasy feeling when she was in a car regardless of who was driving. The only time she was able to fully relax was when she was on the back of a motorcycle, which she admitted was ironic as hell.

With a practiced ease she put her hair into a messy bun high on her head and slid behind Michael in a way that would stop her skirt from flapping around and grasped him lightly around his sides. He wasn't a daredevil and would be going slower still if he was behind Lucy.

It took roughly ten minutes riding to get there. Michael stopped the bike next to Lucy and Celia hopped off. The boardwalk had seemed to transform from her brief view of it earlier when she hadn't been paying much attention.

It was jammed pack with bodies and the tones of a saxophone could be heard in the distance above the screams from people on the rides. It really was a whole new world. But at a closer look she couldn't ignore the hundreds of missing person signs hung up sometimes three on top of the other.

Lucy said that she'd meet them later at the car and she was looking for a job. Celia perked up at the words and was about to trot after her but Sam halted her by grabbing the back of her jacket. Even though she was older Sam was almost as tall as she was now so he was able to pull her off balance.

"Sam!"

He grinned at her. "You can go consign yourself to hours of boredom at some shop later. Let's check this place out first though!"

He was smiling so earnestly she found a grin pulling at her lips too and she let him drag her. It wasn't any shock they ended up near a huge concert where the sound of the sax was coming from the stage. They joined the throng of people and Celia had to admit she liked the energy.

It was unconscious for her to sway slightly to the beat. The singer was someone she had never heard and he was greased up like a pig, the sweat shining against his bronze skin when he twisted near the flames. He had a nice voice though.

Michael stiffened next to her. Celia glanced at him to ask what was wrong but he ignored her and kept staring at something. Sam noticed his look too and he followed his brother's gaze to a girl with big dark hair and what looked like gypsy styled clothes. He wrinkled his face and Celia laughed when she saw it. She glanced at the girl too and also took a vague note of the kid next to her.

Sam was at that age when he technically should have been taking a vague notice to girls. But he had shown an odd indifference to the opposite sex in favor to comic books. She didn't really see any harm in it. So long as it lasted she could keep teasing him and even when he did have a puppy love she could tease him about that. It was a win-win for her and Michael either way. But Celia could bet Lucy wasn't quite ready for her youngest to have that growth spurt yet.

Michael was still staring with unnerving determination. "A stalker is born," Celia sang under her breath to Sam and he laughed.

When Michael sent her a look she pulled on an innocent face but couldn't conceal the devilish glint in her eyes. "I'll get you for that one."

"We all have dreams." Celia shrugged.

Suddenly the girl took off and Michael grabbed onto them both to drag them. Celia wriggled out of his grasp and was glad when he didn't stop. Sam did.

"I'm gonna go find Lucy and job hunt with her," Celia said. Sam looked like he was going to protest but she smothered it with her hand. "I like money. And I bet you'll love it too if I get you a TV with a paycheck."

Sam looked unsure but then he nodded, a smile blooming. "Better hurry, Michael's on a stalker mission." Celia winked playfully and Sam rushed off.

Celia wandered back to the boardwalk. She scanned the area for her familiar aunt. Lucy was in a plain blue dress. She realized looking around that both she and her aunt weren't wearing the conventional style for this area but Celia couldn't care. She wasn't one for lots of leather with the jacket being the single real exception.

Finally she spied her aunt with her hand around a little kid. She was heading into a movie store. Celia caught up with her and Lucy looked at her with a small smile that didn't cover up the worry.

"I'm taking this little boy in here. He lost his mom."

Celia nodded and gave the little guy a smile. Four guys brushed past them and into the store. Lucy pulled the kid in a few seconds later. When she addressed the middle aged man she handed the kid over to Celia.

She glanced around and spied some candy on the counter. "Hey, come here," she murmured gently and hefted the kid into her arms so he could see it. He was a little heavier than she had thought but she dealt with it while he grabbed a sucker, wiping his eyes with the other hand.

She smiled at the clerk who was looking her over curiously. He was around Lucy's age with glasses and a nice smile. She tried to set the boy down but he clung stubbornly with a "No!" His legs wrapped around her waist and his arms clung around her neck too tightly. Celia straightened back up and tried to shift him slightly.

"Okay, okay," she muttered without any real annoyance. "But you need to loosen your arms at least."

She leaned against the counter to take some weight off of her legs. There was a small feeling of being watched and she twisted her head slightly to see the four guys. She glanced over them to note their leather appearance. Three of them had various shades of blond hair and the other had dark hair. They must have all taken notice of her when the child made a scene.

"Terry!"

Celia glanced back to the door to see a woman running in. The little boy smiled brightly and this time he let her drop him down to the ground.

"Oh thank you. I was so worried." The woman had him in a hug.

Celia and Lucy smiled. "That's great," Lucy murmured warmly.

Celia ruffled the boy's hair. "Let's not go wandering off again okay?"

"Okay," he said with a small smile and followed his mother out.

'Well done," the clerk said and held out two suckers. Lucy accepted hers after a moment.

Celia shook her head and noticed the warm look of curiosity in Max's eyes when he looked at her aunt. She covered her smile with her fingers, mind awhirl with the possibilities.

"I told you not to come in here anymore."

Celia glanced up to see the four guys moving around them. They paused when the clerk spoke to them. The one in the lead was wearing all black and she assumed vaguely he was the leader. His lips were quirked in amusement but his eyes weren't showing anything. Not even curiosity as he looked her and her aunt over.

Celia looked down when his eyes met hers after they had trailed up her body with a slow intent she recognized. Her hands tugged the hem of her jacket closer around her. Then they were leaving and she glanced up in time to see the littlest one smirking at her and Lucy before he left the store too.

"Wild kids," the clerk commented and Lucy turned to him with a smile.

"They're just young. We were that age too once," Lucy said and gave Celia a small hug. "Only they dress better."

The weird feeling didn't leave her body but she smiled, dropping her head on Lucy's shoulder a minute.

"You two have generous natures. I like that in people."

"Thank you," Celia said and pulled away from Lucy. "I'm gonna go wander."

"Oh, okay. Be careful though… and if you put in any resumes, no bars!"

Celia waved bye and stepped back out into the crowd. Unfortunately there weren't many places hiring for mid summer. She put in a few tentative resumes before admitting defeat for the night.

She ended up finding Sam who dragged her with him into a comic book store. They had never been her cup of tea but she smiled and let him lead her again. She lifted an eyebrow. There were two hippies asleep next to each other beside a TV. That couldn't have been good for business.

Sam was now talking to two kids his age. Celia listened to them insult Sam's fashion sense and then her cousin started schooling them in comic book knowledge. He was saying something about not being able to put a comic next to something to do with red kryptonite… She didn't understand a word of it and she looked outside.

There were a group of weird guys and she wondered now if any guy in this place had a style she could admire. She tilted her head though and looked them over though. With a smile she tapped the elder of the Rambo wannabe's. When he looked at her, lip curling, she pointed and he glanced at the entrance in time to see the comics being swiped.

Celia laughed a little as they took off running. She dropped her hand over Sam's shoulders. He gave her a look.

"You know pretty soon I'll be taller than you and you won't be able to do that."

"So I'll savor it now while I still can." Celia pulled the comic from him. "I thought you hated horror comics Mr. Superman."

"I do," he said as they headed out.

They found Michael still being a stalker. Celia followed the girl with her eyes rather than listen to Sam tease Michael. The gypsy girl was walking to four motorcycles. Celia stilled when she saw the riders and a flash of dull recognition ran through her. The leader was stone faced as he helped the girl on the bike, his grasp on her arm loose and indifferent.

They all saw Michael and the leader sent a smirk his way before they all revved their bikes and vanished down the streets. The girl sent Michael a look over her shoulder.

Michael looked frozen. Finally after a second Celia clapped his shoulder affectionately. "C'mon stalker boy, you need to work on your technique."

Michael grabbed her quickly and started wrestling with her, Sam laughingly adding commentary.

Maybe living in Santa Carla wasn't what she wanted but at least she had her family to tease, right?

End chapter

Author note: I'm a little nervous about this so a review or two would be nice. If you want to criticize that's fine since I'm confident enough to know I can handle this since I don't expect everyone to like it. I just want to know if people are reading, you know?

I'm torn between writing this as a David fiction or a Marko fiction. When I settle on Marko David comes and buts his head in… so some advice on that would be awesome. See you all next time!