One Big Happy Family. (IC)

The wheels of a 1976 Chevrolet Camero tear through a road in Pennsylvania as a young man starts dodging the little traffic. "Stupid dad... I just had to introduce him to internet dating and leave all of my friends behind..." Brad said to himself, before tuning up the CD player he had recently put into his car so it played some of his music. Throughout the peaceful and calm mannerism's of the suburb he was going to be living in, ACDC, Metallica and other bands were blaring out of his car. He pulled into the driveway and looked at the house he was going to be living in... A typical suburban house where every last house looked the same as the other. "Ahhh, fuck... Did they have to make a damn banner for me?" Brad placed his hand firmly on his forehead and rummaged through one of his pockets for the key his father gave him. "Hello? Is anyone home?" Brad roamed around the house, trying to find out where everything was, before roaming into the kitchen and opening the fridge, grabbing a bottle of soda and sitting down on a closeby couch. "Guess nobody's home just yet..." Brad grinned and took off his shoes, before opening the bottle and guzzling down half of it's contents.

"Great... Even the drinks in Australia taste better..." Brad grimaced at the drink, but still managed to finish it off anyway. "I wonder where my room is..."

No one on the corner have swagger like us
Swagger like us, swagger like us
No one on the corner have swagger like us
Swagger like us, swagger like us

Mr. West is in the building
Swagger on a hundred thousand, trillion
Ayo I know I got it first
I'm Christopher Columbus, y'all just the pilgrims
Thanksgiving do we even gotta question
Hermes pastel I pass the dressing
My attitude is tattooed
That means permanent so I guess I should address it, huh?
My swagger is mick jagger
Every time I breathe on the track I asthma attack it
Why he's so mad for, why he gotta habit
Cuz I slaved my whole life, now I'm the master

Na-Na-Na, how it feel to wake up and be the (shit)
And Na-Na-Na-Na-Na
Trying to get that Kobe number, one over Jordan

The loud sounds of "Swagger Like Us" were blaring out of the windows of a 2009 Ford Mustang convertible. It was a beautiful car, with a hard top convertible, instead of a soft one, and Amanda prided herself on keeping perfect. She was sailing down the road, her hair flying freely in the open, the top down. Life seemed pretty perfect. Though on the inside she was a racket of nerves. Here she was, taking a semester out of school so she could what? Protect her mother? Hell no, that dumb ass hadn't been around enough as she was a child for Amanda to care if she threw her life away for some internet bullshit. No, Amanda was going home for her sisters. Her two best friends.

When her mom told her she was not only marrying, but bringing to her home, a man she met online, Amanda had freaked out. She'd used every ounce of self control she possessed to not go off when her mother told her that she wasn't even going to be there when the kid... What was his name? Brad? got there because she was going on her honeymoon almost immediately. She was acting like such a dumb shit. "Whatever, can't control mom. Never have, never will." The young woman snorted as she pulled up infront of the house. Her head tilted to the side at the Camero. Not only was it in their driveway, it was in her spot. "Pfft... Perfect. This should be... interesting...[/i] She glanced at the clock, noting that Ali and Charlotte weren't home from school yet. Which meant she was going to be the first to meet this Australian punk. "Well good. I can set him straight right off the bat about what's what and who's boss."

She gingerly stepped out of the car, taking care to make sure her hair wasn't flying all over hell and creation, and then looked down at the Black Sabbath t-shirt, and faded blue jeans. "Heh... Least my Converses are perfect." She grinned as she wiggled her toes in her brand knew black converse shoes. Deciding that she looked as good as she was gonna look, Amanda pulled out her house key and let herself in, though the door was unlocked. "Fuckin' moron." She grumbled as she walked in, her duffel bag slung over one shoulder.

"Yo, anyone home? Ali? Charlotte? Ya'll here?" She called out, her voice a rich combination of a southern twang and general American. She was a long way from soft spoken, and it showed in her very demeanor as she trudged into the living room, her eyes falling on the gu... Ha! What a fuck! Look at him, he's already damn well made himself at home. She almost rolled her eyes, but caught herself mid way. That was too childish for her.

"I'm assuming you're Brad?" She called out as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a Pepsi from the fridge. Pushing aside a couple bowls of left over chicken, she reached into the back and grinned. There was always a nice supply of Snickers candy bars in the back of the fridge for her when she came home. Though Amanda knew it was Ali and Charlotte that made sure her favorite snack was there, not her mother. Turning, she walked back into the living room and stared at the guy as she plopped down in the recliner, pulling her leg up so that her knee was bent. "I'm Amanda, the oldest."

Charlotte looked at the clock as the timed ticked for her through class. She had gotten stuck at school at the latest hour thanks to some people's idiocy. There was thirty seconds left until she and three other troublemakers were released into the small town heat. During the few seconds left she spent the time glaring at the two people she got her and her best friend, Ted in trouble because of their pointless insults and other blag blah stuff. She raised a hand and poked her small pipsqueak ponytail (her hair is short in the back and long in the front). It was a habit gained from when she had nothing to keep her distracted. Her friend, glanced at her and she winked playfully. They would get the two twits back another time. But....she glanced at the clock and the detention teacher stood from his desk. He spent two seconds fixing his square nerd like glasses and watched her and the others. She grinned, leaning back and resting a hand on her bag.

"Why are you in a rush Ms. Skye?" asked the teacher, watching her carefully. "Alright students you are released, but do not let me catch 'you' calling each other inappropriate names and punching someone...You may go."

Charlotte stood up, pulling her bag over her shoulder a grin on her face. A tall jock boy with flaming red hair walked by her with a black eye. He glanced at her and walked away quickly. She sneered and joined Ted outside.

"I think I scared that guy good," she stated walking with her tall, dark and literally handsome friend.

"Yeah, next time do not be so stupid Char," he walked a head leaving her feeling like a fool.

"But..but...They were..they were... "she sighed, grabbing his arm. "You are right I should not have relied on violence. I am sorry."

Ted simply shrugged and picked her up, lifting her off her feet a few inches. "Just take care when you head home." With that he put her down and went to his jeep. She smiled from ear to ear as she walked to her '60s black mustang. She got in and started her car. Time to go home to her sisters and her new 'bro'. As she drove off she began thinking about their father before he had gone. Times hadn't been great then, but so weren't the times now. She thought of her younger sister, one who was strong and a tad of a troublemaker, but she loved her. Then her oldest sister. She was looked up to her. Charlotte sighed as she thought of herself, the middle, the oddball, the silent, the loner. Her sisters were her best friends and Ted was her crush. She forgot what she was thinking once she pulled into the drive way beside her sister's car.

"Ah home sweet home." She got out, and picked up her things. Time to face her home. Her step-brother was home and Amanda....which meant nothing good. She hoped that there was peace when she entered. Opening the door, she entered into a silent home. "HELLO?" She yelled as she entered the room, seeing Amanda and Brad. "Well hey....Panda (Amanda's nickname). Hey Brad!" she stepped into the room and went to her usual seat on the couch.

IC/Leon

He was standing outside on his front lawn. Wearing old, tattered jeans with holes in the knees.
"..hhmm.." He stared down his lawn, the bright sun beating down on his neck creating slight beads of sweat.
Leon crossed his hairy arms in front of his chest, his white wifebeater shirt wrinkleing against them.
Yellow tinted aviator glasses made his head look like that of some creepy bug, while the cigarette in his mouth just added to his sinister look.
"...Dog shit.." The cigarette bounced in his mouth a he spoke to himself.
"...who's.. Dog.. is crapping on my Lawn!?"
Leon's lawn just happened to be a healthy green and just about level.
"....aaauugh.. " He grimaced, retreating back to his shed behind his house to get a shovel.
"..My lawn is so darn perfect! you could play golf on it! ..Jeese.."
Disturbed, 'poor' Leon scraped the dog turd off his prized lawn.

Brad looked up at the three girls that he would be calling 'sister' for the rest of his life, first, staring at Amanda. "Well of course I'm Brad, why else would I be inside. It's nice to meet you Amanda, and I take it those Snickers in the fridge are yours?" Brad's attention moved over to Charlotte. "So I take it dad told you all about me?" Brad said, in a heavy Australian accent. "Yeah, as I just said, I'm Brad. And you are....Charlotte, right?" Brad grinned, turning to the youngest of the sisters, before kindly standing up and looking at her, dead in the eyes. "Listen! I'm Brad, your new step brother, and if it's your seat on the couch, then why isn't your damn name on it?" Brad's voice went a little louder than his average tone at the last few words of his small speech. Brad quickly covered his mouth before rummaging through the fridge yet again. "Oh, Amanda... I hope you don't mind, but I kind of borrowed one of your Snickers to pull a prank on the neighbour.... I bet they think that a dog took a crap on their lawn!" Brad chuckled, before walking back outside and bringing in a few boxes. "So... Can any of you show me to my room?" Brad smiled, although the two boxes he was carrying seemed to cover up his mouth.

IC/ Leon

"..good lord.. IT even has.. CORN in it! UUGH!! " Leon had flung the 'poop' over his fence in his back yard.
"..jeese.. " He ventured over his lawn to put the shovel back when he noticed that there was a vehicle there that he didn't recognize.
"...huh.. who the heck is that..? ..Boyfriend..? .." He frowned at the thought of the girls already dating. Great. That'll be a handfull more of gray hairs for mom..

"Aww shit... Cocky.." Amanda muttered darkly as she stared at Brad's back while he made his way out of the house. She leaned back lightly banging her head on the chair before glaring over to her sisters, sort of throwing them a "shut your mouths" look. But...

"Oh your room would be back in whatever house you came from!"

Too late... "Damn it, Ali." She groaned lightly as she looked over at Charlotte. "You get Ali. Make sure she doesn't stab something. I'll help the asshole to his room." She snickered lightly to her sister as she jumped up, lightly jerking one of the boxes from Brad's hands, and offered him a light smile. "Ya'know, that whole saying? More, flies, honey? It generally runs with siblings too. You were sitting in her seat. It's where she's sat since we got the house, so yeah she'd be a little ruffled. You're not the only one working a transition at the moment here. Might wanna give your new sisters some consideration. Especially the younger ones." Her voice was icy cool, though that's how it normally sounded unless she was talking to either of her sisters.

Amanda turned right after walking up the stairs and passed by one room. "That's Ali's room." She said as she passed the closed door, "And that's Lo's." She nodded towards the door across the hall. "Here's their shared bathroom. I suggest never ever entering it. Ever." Laughing lightly, she reached the stairs leading up to the third floor and started up. "This top floor was my space after I turned eighteen. I used to be an attic, but I changed a lot of it." She reached over with her elbow, since her hands were full of box, and pushed up the light switch. It was a loft. A clean, well lit, spacious, loft. "Skylights, lots of window space, plenty of room." Nodding towards a back door, Amanda set the box onto the floor. "That leads out onto a private balcony, each bedroom has one. And that door is your bathroom." Turning, she eyed him carefully before shrugging and making her way back to the door, intent on finding Alison. "Oh, dinner will be ready at 6:30. It's my night to cook, which means it's yours and my... our.. sister's night to clean up the kitchen. We take turns with everything. You cook Monday. Fridays and Saturdays are fend for yourself nights, because someone's usually always out of the house, and then Sunday's we all cook a Sunday dinner together." Turning, she stared at the wall for a minute. "We cook it rather mom's here or not. Usually not." Shrugging, she turned and walked down the hall to find her sisters...

"ALISON MARIE SKYE! Get your Strudel Face Biscuit Nugget ass down here NOW! You too Lo Lo!"

As Leon stood there, watching the drama unfold as he could hear the yelling from here.
By the time the new guy and Amanda trotted from the house, Leon was standing beside the car, like any other man would, he inspected it with his eyes.
"..1976 kee-marow.. " Leon pulled the cigarette from his mouth, flicking it to rid of the ash collecting on it.
He looked to the two young kids, nodding to Amanda.
"well hullo children! .." Leon placed the cigarette back in his mouth.
"who's this?" he looked at Brad wearily.
"Amanda,you tell me if this ya-ho hurts 'ya i'll fix it for ya.. " Already it seemed like Leon was the parent nextdoor when mom and dad weren't home.
Which was pretty much all the time..

And then a yappy, little dogg wheeled out from Leon's house. Yes. wheeled.. This little jackrussel terrier was paralyzed in both legs but used a little doggy wheelchair to cart himself around.
"Petey! calm down 'ya damn dog.. "
Petey knew Amanda but he sniffed the car a bit, intrigued at the new smells that clung to it.
Petey was a little old, pushing 6 years his reaction times are a little slow.

Charlotte gave Brad a blank look as he snapped at her for no reason. She bit her lower lip to keep from giving his a snappy comeback. However she just glared at his back, before looking towards her sister, Amanda. Charlotte managed a strained smile. "Okay sis. You gotta," she replied getting up from the couch.

She began humming to herself as she walked upstairs to search for Alison. What happened to the darn girl? Not in her room. She walked back downstairs and entered the kitchen where she found Alison.

"Geeze Ali, you don't make it easy to find you," said Charlotte, smiling. "Amanda told me to find you. Let's go to her before she has some sort of fit."

Brad smiled as he looked at the fairly large room he would be staying in. It was a large improvement to the small, cramped room he had back in Australia, he turned around to thank Amanda, but it was too late, she was already gone. "Hmmm, very spacious... I could get used to this place already." Brad placed the few boxes he had in his hands down on the floor and raced down the stairs, heading outside to his car, and getting the rest of his boxes, these were his most prized possessions, the things that were most important to him. He lifted them up with a slight amount of difficulty at first, but managed to get a good grip on them as he slowly made his way back upstairs.

"Now... Which box had all of those Australian to American power adapters?"