Summary: Rowan Thompson was a normal girl, really. She had a doting mother and father and an adorable little brother... And then she moved to Scotland.

I'm attempting to keep this at the year 2000, when the movie came out but it's hard for me, hehe. My memories of 2000 include falling over my auntie Sharon's house, aged four. I had a CD player at maybe aged nine? I'm sure they were out sooner, though. I mean an actual portable CD player, the little ones where it was only the size of the disk.

Rowan is a meh teenager. She isn't all god and she isn't all bad.

Smoking is very dangerous and can lead to a variety of cancers and ultimately, if you want to start smoking, I wouldn't. I tried it a few months back now and it isn't what all the cool kids make it out to be. You smell like shit and the first few times, you may go slightly dizzy from the nicotine rush.

I slid the bulky headphones over my fringe and listened to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. My mom and dad had bought me both the compact CD player and the disk for my fourteenth birthday; I haven't stopped listening to it since. The disk was slightly scratched and the CD player occasionally jumped, but it was still perfect to me. It was the best gift they'd ever gotten me; sure, they'd bought me clothing, given me money - but the CD played was something that could be used over and over.

I subconsciously tugged on my hair, straightening it out so that it looked perfect, considering I'd been stuck on this damn plane for well over four hours now and my legs were cramping from the flight. I longed to get up and walk to the bathroom and back, but that meant actually getting up.

"You okay, kid?" a man asked. He wore dark clothing and had several piercings on his face. I just nodded and sighed, pushing my legs out and leaning on my dad. "You sure?" He smirked wickedly, eyeing my shoes. I looked down and flushed - my bunny slippers were comfortable!

I stuck my tongue out childishly - he smiled back, settling down to lean on the window seat.

I grinned and hid into my dad's side, settling down and turning up the volume on my CD player.

"Come on honey, wake up," my mom squealed, throwing open the curtains to my room. I hissed angrily; the light was near blinding and after that flight, I was tired and extremely jetlagged. "We're decorating today!"

I pushed myself out of bed and grabbed some old bed sheets. Soon, the floor was covered in the dusty sheets and I began to paint the old wooden vanity that my mom picked up from one of her new 'friends' (ie, a crane-necked, nosy busy body who wanted to know all about the new family).

"I'm already bored and I haven't even begun!" I huffed, grabbing a bobble and tying my long hair back. Mom came over wordlessly and took the paint brush off me.

"Go get the Tracy Chapman disk and put it in the CD player; time will go faster when you're listening to something you enjoy!"

I did just that. The music seemed to pound in the old room but I was happier listening to it. Before I knew it, the vanity, wardrobe, the old desk and chair in the room were painted white with light blue detailing.

I went downstairs with mom while they dried and washed the paint off of my hands. "What do you want for dinner, mom?"

"I'll make it sweetie!" Mom said, toddling off to call Tony down.

I pulled out some pasta and filled a pan with water and salt. I lit the gas stove with my lighter and set the pan on it to boil. Once it did, I filled it with the pasta shells and pulled out some bowls. What was taking mom so long? I sighed and went to the pantry. I came out with two jars of tomato sauce and drained the pasta. Soon, there were three bowls full of tomato pasta sat on the side, covered with a liberal amount of cheese and mom still hadn't come back down with Tony.

I began to eat my pasta and finished it in record timing; two spoons were grabbed and I went up stairs to take them their dinner.

"Mom?" I called, using my shoulder-blade to push the door knob down and let myself into Tony's room. Tony was being crushed in my mom's arms and she was laughing. "I've got food!"

By the time dad got home, my room was done... and it was perfect. The vanity was glistening and the mirror was shined. The room was being aired out, but the colour scheme was blue and white. My bed was a double; it was quite tall and pushed against a wall. At the foot of the bed, there was a large 'treasure' box that I kept my shoes in and would be an excellent hiding place if Tony ever made friends and they wanted to play Hide and Seek. Not that he would, actually, make friends - he hated Scotland almost as much as

The bed was four-poster with white, lace curtains on the inside and thick, baby blue curtains on the outside. It blocked out any light but maintained the light atmosphere. The duvet was a plush, bright white and the pillows were the same. It looked so comfortable. I had a large set of windows that mom pushed one of our sofa's beneath with plumped up blue pillows and an old, porcelain doll that once belonged to my grandmother. I couldn't help but beam happily at it and held it in my arms.

"We've done it, gran. We're finally here and I think everything is going to be okay, now. Mom and dad haven't shouted at each other in a while but Tony is really upset with the fact that we've moved. I don't know how to make him happy, but I think he'll be okay. Our schools are joined... kinda'. I can see him at break times and lunch times, sometimes between lessons 'cause the schools came up with a visiting program. I can look after him, but you'll be doing that for me, right?"

I sighed and put the doll down. I flung myself on the sofa and grinned. So far, I loved it here.

The woman gave a tiny, mocking smile and whispered to her subordinate; "The Thompson's have moved, finally."

The Fae woman gave her a smile back and left, her mind spinning. They weren't meant to leave yet.

The curtains to the my bed were flung open and I growled. Who disturbs my rest? "Rowan..." Tony whimpered, his eyes red and bloodshot. "I had a bad dream..." My heart melted and I held up the duvet. He slid in and wrapped his tiny arms around me after shutting my curtains.

"What was it about?" I asked quietly, pulling him closer and throwing one of my legs over his. He snuggled into my chest.

"Vampires..." he murmured. I clutched him tighter. That's weird.

"What was happening?" I asked again, stroking small circles into the small of his back. I used to have to do this when he was a baby; he never calmed down for mom and dad, but he always did with me.

"T - they were chanting, and holding a stone up to the sky, and then these people came on a horse-drawn cart thing, they had stakes and crosses and the vampires were screaming and crying and flying and there was so much blood and there was fire - " I cut him off by kissing him on his nose.

"Don't worry, Tony. It's just a dream, okay? You're safe, you're fine, nothing can hurt you, especially when I'm here, okay?" The wind howled ominously outside and he yelped. "Relax, Tony! It's just the wind."

"Or the undead..." he muttered petulantly and I smirked. I pressed another kiss to his nose and shut my eyes.

"If we don't get some sleep, we'll be the undead. Are you warm enough? Comfy? We have school tomorrow..."

And by the time morning drew around, I was annoyed from sleep deprivation. Tony had kicked, tugged my duvet off of me, drooled... "You little!" I growled at his near unconscious body and shook my head, laughing slightly.

I crept out of my bed and slid the curtain shut before he was affected. It took another hour of coaxing before Tony would finally fall asleep, so I figured I'd be a good sister and set his clothes out for him, socks and shoes included, before making his lunch and his school bag for him. He needed his rest.

When that was all done, I got ready; I had a shower, carefully combed out any knots in my hair with a wide-toothed comb and dabbed on some concealer, powder and mascara. We didn't have to wear uniforms at this new school so I pulled on a black high-waisted skirt and a white shirt. I tucked the shirt into my skirt and shrugged on a red, knitted jacket that my mom made me. I did a once-over in my vanity mirror and nodded. I hoped I looked okay; my hair was drying quickly and I tugged pieces over my shoulders, brushing my fringe out and clipping it back.

I checked the time and saw it was only 7:30am and sighed. Tony needed to be woken up at 8:15am. Urgh. I went into one of my vanity drawers and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and my lighter. I flicked the Zippo lighter open and then lit it, the flame taking a few tries but eventually staying. I opened the pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, lighting it then starting it up. I took a deep drag and inhaled, before walking over the sofa and opening the wide windows. I hadn't realised this before, but one of them opened out to a wide balcony. I grinned. Perfect.

I stepped out on the balcony and exhaled the smoke. Almost immediately, the tension left my shoulders and my hands stopped shaking. I know smoking is bad for me, don't get me wrong. However, I started aged thirteen and it was now a very addictive habit. To tell me to stop now would call for a kick in the teeth. I quickly finished the ciggy and threw the butt down into the bushes below. I climbed back into my room and sprayed myself liberally with perfume and body spray.

I went into my trunk and pulled out some white flats. I put them on and left my room, making sure that Tony was tucked in and content.

"Morning, mom," I yawned, stumbling into hers and dads bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush and their toothpaste, making sure there was a liberal amount on the brush. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Just fine, Rowan!" she chirped. I gurgled around a mouthful of toothpaste and spat some of it out. "You know, me and your dad are thinking of buying you a desktop computer..."

I choked on the toothpaste and spray went everywhere. "Mom, they cost a lot! No, no!" I objected furiously. Desktop computers were a relatively new thing but they were becoming increasingly popular, and more expensive because of this, because of the World Wide Web. They were very, very expensive, in my eyes. Not worth it. I'd rather buy thousands of books, instead.

"But - "

"No!" I exclaimed again. "You'd be better putting the money into a college fund for Tony and I, instead. Don't waste your money on something so trivial."

Mom looked shocked and slightly annoyed, but I refused to back down. She was trying to spoil me because I wasn't too happy about having to leave California to live here. In Scotland. That didn't mean I wanted everything!

I swilled my mouth out without another word and left the room, walking down the wrought iron steps to get breakfast. I'd brush my teeth again later.

I made my lunch, a sandwich with mayonnaise as the butter and chopped tomatoes as the filling, and placed it into a box. I also put in a bottle of chilled Coca Cola into the box and placed it into my drawstring duffel bag. I had a pencil-case stuffed in there, as well as a A4 drawing pad, a slightly-larger-than-A5 notebook in there and several books in there. It was quite light, all things considered.

"Mom?" I called up the stairs, dropping my bag by the front doors.

"Yeah?" she replied, sounding shook up and my brow unconsciously furrowed in annoyance. I wiped my face clear of emotion when she appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Please could we go shopping at the weekend? I was wondering if I could get some oil paints, brushes, coal and maybe an easel?"

"Sure, sweet pea!" she chirped again. She sounded happier now that she had a chance to spend money. Oh, mom."When are you getting Tony up?"

"I'm getting him up at 8:15, is that okay?"

"No! He needs to be up earlier! I still have his sandwiches to do - "

"Already done!"

" - and he needs to get his clothes sorted - "

"Done that too!"

" - and he needs to have some breakfast - "

"He's on mixed up warm Weetabix, covered liberal in honey and sugar!"

" - and it's a thirty minute drive; you need to be early!"

Well, damn. Looks like I'll get him up sooner than expected - but hey, he still had a lie in. "'Kay, mom!"

I made myself some extremely sugary coffee to perk me up and began to make breakfast for Tony. I popped some bread in the toaster for myself and then placed two Weetabix into a bowl. I poured in some milk and honey before placing it in the microwave. The timer was set for two minutes and it was stirred thoroughly one minute in.

When the gloop was steaming, a spoonful of sugar was sprinkled over the top and the toast was done. I grabbed the toast and scoffed it, taking two steps at a time to get the food to Tony. "Tony!" I howled. I heard him screech and heard the tell-tale sign of him lurching out of bed. "Breakfast!" I beamed at him, carefully handing him the steaming bowl and sitting at the desk.

"Thanks, Rowan, but you didn't have to wake me up like that!" He gave me an angry look, taking a spoonful of the brown gloop.

I just grinned at him. "I've got your clothes sorted," I gestured to the bottom of the bed. "And your bag is set. Are you allowed coke at school? If you're not, I'll come find you and protect you from the evil teachers!"

He snorted and grinned, nodding his head. His blond hair was devoid of gel and it flopped over into his eyes. I grabbed my gel hair spray and sprayed some into his locks. Tony was, by now, used to my random urges and just sighed. I grinned down at him and began spiking his hair for him. Ten minutes later, his bowl was washed and dried and my coffee was part-way drunk. "Are you nearly done, Row?" Mom asked tiredly.

"Are you okay, mom?" I asked quietly, so that Tony wouldn't worry.

"I don't know. I forever feel sick and tired..." she moaned back, rubbing her back.

"Go the doctors, okay?" Mom never, ever got ill. Ever.

"Can we go now?" Tony pouted. I sighed and nodded, tipping my coffee down the sink and I grabbed a packet of bubble gum from one of the cupboards. I was clever and decided that I should have three suitcases; two large ones and one medium one. The medium one was jammed full of food from California that I absolutely adored and could lord over Tony.

I popped a raspberry flavoured one into my mouth and nodded, picking up my bag and leading the way to the car.

I huffed and sat next to Tony. It was lunchtime and I had to endure several taps on the arse, bad accents that people seemed to enjoy making worse when I was around and teachers who forced me to stand at the front of the classroom and tell them all about myself. Urgh. "Have you made any friends yet, kiddo?" I asked politely, eyeing a teacher who looked willing enough to yell at me.

"No!" he burst out, with an angry scowl on his little face. I pecked him on his lips absent-mindedly and the scowl was gone, in place of an open mouth and blushing face.

"I'm sure you'll make fiends... What about the McAshton boys? They have a cousin in my class and he seems... okay."

I knew it was the wrong question when his face paled and he tucked himself into my side. "They keep teasing me," Tony said, muffled by my clothing. "And they tell me I should go back tu' wher' a' came from!" He pulled off the accent surprisingly well.

"Excuse meh' lass, who're yu'?" the teacher called, jogging over to us.

"I'm his sister, who the god damn hell are you?" I replied, snarling.

"I'm his teacher, missy. Mind yur' language before I get yu' inta' some trouble!" The teacher seemed more annoyed that I was a family member than my blaspheming, as his eyes trailed over my own blonde hair and blue eyes and then at the top of Tony's head. "Do yu' 'ave a pass to be here?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I burst out. "Of course I have a pass!" I thrust the little red slip into his blunt fingers.

Name: Rowan Marie Thompson

Age: Fifteen

Birthdate: 30th October 1985

Sibling: Tony James Thompson

Can See Sibling For: All year, all times if not in lessons

"Oh..." the teacher replied and he strolled away after I snatched the pass back off him. Tony started giggling in my side.

"What are you laughing at, aye?" I asked but I was smirking, too. He started laughing.

"You're so scary, Row! How come you didn't get in trouble, though?"

"They probably know about me and my issues. Don't both schools have to read our files, so they know what they're taking on?"

"I don't know," he mused. "Probably... What does that say about you, then?"

"That I'm a reckless S-O-B with 'Danger! Approach with caution!' wrote on my head."

Tony slapped my arm. "You know mom hates it when you swear; you'll get into a lot of trouble for it, especially around children!"

"Aw, am I harming your delicate sensibilities? Where is your lunch?"

"Um.. the McAshton boys took it and stomped on it and tried to cover my head in the coke..." Tony admitted weakly. Fury ran through me. How dare they? Unbidden, I got to my feet, grabbed my bag and grabbed Tony's wrist.

"Where do they sit?" I hissed.

"Don't, you'll make it worse!"

"Where. Do. They. Sit?"

"In the cafeteria - "

By the time I'd actually realised I could seriously damage Tony's social life and dad's job, one of the boys was crying from a verbal strip down and the other was glaring bloody murder into Tony. "I swear to god, if either of you two mess with my brother again, you will regret it. I will destroy you."

With those parting words, I spun on my heel and pushed Tony over to the canteen. "What do you want, kiddo?" I asked him quietly, aware of the silence that had taken over the room.

"Just - just a sandwich, please..." he spoke, his voice tiny and squeaky.

"Please may I have a chicken or cheese sandwich, please?" I asked the woman behind the counter politely, one of my hands clenched into a tight fist.

"O'course, lass, and if you don't mind me' sayin'... those lads got what were' comin' for 'em." The woman gave me a subtle wink and handed me a carefully wrapped sandwich. I wordlessly handed her the required money and stormed off, Tony in tow.

"What do you mean you threatened those boys?" Mom screamed at me. I just sneered and walked away from her, up to my bedroom. I slammed the door shut and dragged the wardrobe over to make sure it couldn't be opened.

They deserved it, right? I wasn't being a bad sister, was I? I didn't hurt them, really. If it isn't physical harm, then I'm fine. Right?

I sighed and leant into my wardrobe, removing a long, thick piece of rope. I moved the sofa out of the way of the window and opened the door; walking on to the balcony, I tied one end of the rope to the rails and let it flop uselessly down the side of the castle we were living in.

I went inside my room, changed into tights and pulled some thermal leggings on over the top. I then changed into some jeans and pulled on thermal socks. They'd keep me warm; I refuse to stay in this house tonight. I did what any sister should have done, right? I found a jumper and pulled off the white shirt. I grabbed another white, strappy top and shimmied into it, before putting on the jumper.

I grabbed a spare hoodie and put that into my duffel bag, before getting my quilted jacket and putting it on. I looked a mess, but I had to get out.

I grabbed some shoes and filled my bag up with sweets and money and applied heavier make up. Mom was shouting at my door and I felt terrible for causing her so much distress, but... I couldn't stay here now.

Pulling open my vanity drawer, I pulled out my cigarettes and lighter and left through the window.