My Once Upon a Time

  "Once upon a time long ago, a little girl sat curled up in the corner of a dark alleyway at night. Rain pounded against her small frail body and she cried for the longest time. Thunder roared loud in her ears and she didn't know what to do or where to go. Should barely see a thing. Her body shook violently in her drenched clothes.
  "The girl turned around upon hearing a deep growl. She nearly jumped at the sight of a large vicious pitbull before her. Her heart began to pound rapidly and her breathing became unsteady as she stared directly into the frightening dog's eyes. The dog barked at her and she shut her eyes, knowing that the dog would tear her into pieces.
  "She heard its footsteps as it approached her. Slowly, the dog came forward, snarling and baring its teeth. She felt the its breath against her cheeks and was able to smell the dog's rancid breath. In an instant, this would all be over.
  "The dog suddenly yelped and jumped back from the young girl. It turned to face the other direction, glaring at the one who had harmed it. The girl opened her eyes and stood up. A young boy stood a few feet away from the dog holding a stone.
  " 'Leave that girl alone you nasty mutt!' he cried. His voice was very powerful for his age. The girl studied the boy intently. He looked a little bit older than her. His black hair stuck to his head as the rain continued to pour from the sky. His eyes were a very pale blue and his skin was a very pale peach color. The girl thought that maybe the boy was sick.
  "The dog barked viciously at the boy and he threw the stone he had been holding. 'Hey! You over there! Get over here!' he yelled.
  "The girl ran forward as the dog began to recover from his injury and the boy grabbed her hand and started running. He moved very fast and was light on his feet. The girl had trouble keeping up which was bad because the dog started to chase them.
  " 'Can't you go any faster than that?' the boy called to her.
  " 'Uhm... I... Ah!' The girl let go of the boy's hand and tripped. He stopped and hurriedly helped her up, but the dog was coming on quick.
  " 'C'mon!' The boy gripped her hand tightly and continued to run. 'My house isn't far so keep running till then!' The irl was silent, but listened obediently. She didn't run a lot and she was already breathing heavily, but he told her specfically to keep running, so that's what she was going to do.
  Soon enough, there was an open gate ahead of the two. 'Keep running! We're al most there!' the boy told her. The dog was gaining on them though and the girl knew she didn't have the stamina to keep going at that pace, but she had to go faster somehow.
  " 'I don't wanna run anymore!' the girl cried. 'I can't! I--Uwah!' The boy increased his pace and still held the girl's hand firmly, forcing her feet to go faster as well. She screamed when the dog barked. It sounded so close. She could practically feel the dog pouning her and then biting into her flesh. The girl shut her eyes and trusted the boy to lead her.
  " 'We're almost there!' she heard him say. She suddenly felt something tug on her skirt and screamed. It was the dog!
She opened her eyes and looked behind her and there she saw the dog biting into her skirt.
  "As soon as the girl passed the gate, the boy quickly closed gate on the dog. Though her life had been saved, the dog left with part of the girl's skirt.
  "The boy collapsed onto the ground just in front of the gate with a sigh of relief. 'Man, that was fun!' he said, a smile on his lips. His breathing was heavy. 'Hey, what were you doing in the alley anyway?"
  "The girl blushed red. At birth, her parents had left her at the hospital and left. The doctors let her outside to play and she had gotten lost chasing a stray cat. "Well--" She stopped as the boy stood up and took her hand again.
  " 'We should probably go inside first, shouldn't we?' he said as he led her to the front door of his house. 'It's cold and it's raining right now.' The boy let her inside, took her into the living room and offered her a seat on the couch while he went to start a fire in the fireplace.
  " 'What's your name?' he asked once he had a fire going and sat beside her.
  "The young girl looked down at her feet and answered, 'M-Maria.'
  "He smiled. 'Really? That's my mom's name too!' He held out his hand. 'My name is Joey! Nice to meet you!'
  "Maria stared at his hand confused. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.
  " 'Oh, uhm...' The boy took her hand and shook it. 'My dad's says that's what you're supposed to do when you meet someone new.'
  "Maria looked at him and smiled. He seemed very nice and she felt indebted to him for helping her. 'Hey, you want me to help you with anything?' she asked.
  "Joey looked at her questioningly. 'Well, not really... Oh! But maybe, can you help me make cookies for when my mom comes to visit later?'
  "Maria nodded. 'Of course!'

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  "And that's how I came to live with Joey," Maria concluded. She and Joey had met ten years ago. She was now sixteen and Joey was just about to turn eighteen.
  Her friend Christine gave her a weird look. "Did you seriously have to mention everysingle detail?"
  Maria chuckled. "Well, I can't help it! I tried to shorten it, but it's my most cherished memory so it's hard to."
  "Oh, that's right," Christine said. "You have a crush on little Joey now, huh?"
  "Don't call him little! He's older than us!"
  Christine shrugged her shoulders. "Well, yeah, but he's the youngest in his family. Everyone calls him 'the young master Joey' so why not call him little? It's practically the same thing."
  "Because it's rude to call our senior--!"
  "You two talking about me again?"
  Maria jumped at the sound of Joey's voice. "Well, I was discussing with Chrissy why we shouldn't call you little Joey," she told him.
  "I don't care what you call me, but don't call me Joey anything at school," he replied. "My name's Joseph. Jpey is such a baby's name.
  "Sure no problem," said Christine, but Maria looked hurt.
  "But I grew up calling you Joey," she complained. "I can still call you Joey, can't I?"
  "No," he replied. "Especially not you."
  "W-Why not?"
  Joey sighed. "I have my reasons. Oh, there's the bell. I'll see you after class, Mari."
  Maria glared. "If you can call me Mari, why can't I call you Joey?"
  He smirked. "Because soon I'll be eighteen. Ciao!"
  Christine grabbed Maria's arm. "C'mon," she said. "We have classes too, you know. Get angry at Joseph on your own time."
  "I don't care what he says! I'm calling him Joey!"