CUPID,, rafe cameron

one

CADENCE awoke peacefully, dreams of various romantic encounters drifting from her mind. the pretty chapels she envisioned her wedding in were replaced by the familiar wooden walls of john b's shack as she blinked her swimming vision to finally focus.

the boy himself was standing in the kitchen, looking at the empty fridge in dismay. cadence sniffed and sat up from the couch which she had fallen asleep on. a blanket that hadn't been there before fell from her lap. jj has clearly noticed her shivering during the night.

"morning sleepyhead," john b called without tearing his eyes from the bare shelves, as if this would make food magically appear. the brunette girl shifted from the sofa, throwing a jumper over the top of her pjs as she walked over to her friend. "morning j," she spoke as she patted him on the back.

"bad news, no daily breakfast waffles today. or breakfast anything since we're out of food," john b stated, holding the door wider to show her.

cadence groaned, grabbing her purse from her counter to inspect. there was only a small handful of notes left and she wasn't sure if it would be enough to suffice. oh well, she had to make do with what she had. this was something cadence learnt from a young age. "i'll head to the shop," she said striding to the door, john b giving her a grateful smile.

she didn't mind running errands for him. after all, it was the least she could do to repay him.

what she did remember of her childhood was ridden with the irony smell of blood and the feeling of tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks. after her mother's suicide cadence was broken. although she hadn't been much of a role model, she had still at least stuck around, more than the girls father had ever done. he was always coming and going with a mouth full of empty promises before something simple like spilt milk would set him off and he'd flip, yelling till his throat went hoarse. then one day he was just gone. never to return. good riddance, thought the girl.

cadence had tried desperately to keep her childhood home. she felt oddly attached to the place, despite the twisted memories of drunken brawls and humming to herself to muffle the screaming. she worked 2 jobs; one even being on figure eight with the insufferable kooks. the brunette started to ration what little food she had and tried to familiarise herself with the feeling of an empty stomach that growled for nourishment. however, it wasn't enough. the unopened bills that lay discarded in the hallway stacked up and the social services surprise visits got more frequent. she was forced to leave in the dead of night, a small backpack containing her entire worldly possessions tucked under her arm. at just sixteen years old, cadence became homeless.

her life then became one of scrounging. she stopped going to school as there was no point and instead, spent the day begging. it didn't surprise her when know one noticed her lack of attendance. she wasn't exactly miss popular.

the brunette then found herself in some of the worst areas of the cut where drug abusers thrived and criminals frequented. the type of place her father would've hung about. it was rough and tumble. she kept telling herself this is what happens: the princesses have to go through a hardship before meeting their prince charming and being saved. but the nights spent on the streets curled in a ball, silently crying, weakened her beliefs. no one was coming to save her.

so when john b crashed into her life (quite literally as he nearly run her over in the twinkie), cadence felt he was the light at the end of a very very dark tunnel.

the boy insisted on taking her back to his to check she was alright. he introduced her to his friends whom she instantly loved and so began their little mishap crew. she quickly settled in. kie and her loved to chat about potential ways to save the world, jj taught her how to surf, pope would lend her books of his from time to time. although it was the bare minimum-a safe roof over her head, food for once- cadence felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

she tried her best to forget about that one period of her life. to push it away into a box at the back of her mind, lock it up and throw the key away. ashamed, sorrowful, disgusted with herself. but every now and then came that niggle at the back of her head that tempted to entice her back into the black thoughts. she reminded herself she was better than that. she didn't want to end up like her father, did she?

john b protested he was just helping a fellow pogue in need but as far as cadence was concerned, she owed him her life.