new girl. [ o p e n ]

[xxfeather]

Bre walked rode her bike down the road. She glanced over her shoulders and saw the lush green pastures of PineWood Stables. There
were horses grazing merrily in the pastures, which made Bre smile. Her hair was up in a ponytail, like every other day. She wore her white
riding shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. She pedled her way up yhe drive way, and in the distance she could see the beautiful stable.
First off, she'd have to go see her horse, Budweiser. Bre had just bought Budweiser a couple months after her father dropped her off
at the trailer park. Bre thought of Budweiser for the time it took her to ride down the long gravel path, and finally she had reached the
main barn. As Bre took off her helmet, she paused.
"Wow.." she muttered.
She parked her bike and walked into the barn.

As she walked down the aisle, she looked left and right, looking for Budweiser. The looking left and right made her feel like a dork,
it was like she was looking both ways before crossing the street. Finally, she reached the stall. She looked down upon a board that
said "New Horse", and she peeked inside. There he stood, her first actuall competition horse. His chestnut coat shimmered in the barn
light. He slowly approached and sniffed Bre's hand, and snorted.
"Hey, you know who I am, boy." she said, stroaking his muzzle.
Bre walked off, going into the tack room to see where they had placed Bud's grooming kit, halter and lead shank. After she had found
what she was looking for, she took the items back to Bud's stall. She entered his stall with the grooming kit, and began to use a rubber
curry comb to start. She had finished the routine in less than half an hour, and she slipped on his halter and snapped his lead shank on.
Bre opened the stall and began to lead Bud out of the barn for a walk.

As Bre and Bud walked out of the barn, she looked around checking everything out at once. She led Bud away from the barn so she could explore some more. Bud suddenly pinned his ears back in annoyance. He whinnied, right in her ear.
"Hey!" she raised her voice.
"Oh, that's right, sorry Bud."
Bud had already been out here, and he wasn't in the mood to just stand there. After a while, Bre would take him out into a smaller pasture where the stallions were kept, and let him stay there for the afternoon.

[ sorry if it's in the wrong place, but right now they are out walkin' =] ]

[liam]

Liam hummed softly. He was lying in the back of the horse trailer that he called home. He had been parked at Pinewood for days now, and so far, nobody seemed to mind that his truck and trailer were there to stay.
Liam heard the crunch of gravel and footsteps of someone walking to the barn. He jumped to his feet, making the trailer rock.
He was dressed in torn jeans and an old T-shirt that probably needed a wash. But on him, the old clothes looked good. It looked like he was dressed the way he wanted to be dressed, not the way that he could afford to dress.
Liam stepped out of the side door of the trailer, squinting in the sunlight.
Sunglasses would be a nice investment. I can't take much more of this dark to light transitioning.
He could see a bike next to the stable. He stepped inside. He heard a girl's voice coming from one of the stalls. Liam walked by the stall innocently. Dippy's stall was a few down from the new horse's. Liam haltered his horse quickly, leading her out of the stall.
Liam could see that the girl and horse had already exited the barn.
Damn. I really shouldn't be following them. That's terribly stalker-ish.
But curiousity overtook Liam. As he lead Dippy along, he noticed a few things about the Pinewood newcomers. The horse was beautiful, well taken care of. He couldn't tell much about the girl, except that she was blond.
Hey!Liam called to them. He jogged toward the horse and girl, Dippy trotting next to him.
Top of the mornin' to you, miss. I'm Liam O'Conner. Couldn't help but notice, you're new, aren't you?
Liam leaned against Dippy's shoulder. He hoped the girl wouldn't find his Irish accent weird.

[xxfeather]

Bre turned around and saw a boy and his mare coming up alongside her. Bre glanced over her shoulder. Bud aswell, turned his head over and nickered at the mare, stamping his feet.
Stallions. she thought, rolling her eyes. Bre looked over at the boy once more, she hadn't been really good at talking to others but she could give it a shot.
"Nice to meet you, Liam."she said, her voice soft.
"Yes, I am new here."
Budweiser snorted loudly. Bre laughed at his actions.
"This, is Bud."she told him.
Budweiser curiously sniffed the mare beside him, and whinnied approvingly. Bre's mind was spinning. She never was the girl who was any good at speaking to guys, and she wasn't sure of what to talk about.
"Walk with me?"she asked.

Bre walked Bud around the yard a few times, wondering if Liam was following. Budweiser seemed to like this mare, but don't all stallions like all mares? Bre shook her head, her blond ponytail flapping against her face. She looked around the yard, over at the huge open spaces in the pastures that were probably crawling with horses. She loved the thought of horses running together, the noise felt comforting to her. When she was young, her mother had taken her to the race track many times. The sound of those thoroughbreds galloping down the home stretch sounded like a bell to her. The roar of the crowd, the aroma of the many foods they sold there, and the smell of the horse.

[liam]

Liam had to jog to keep up with her.
I don't bite. Honestly, unless you happen to be made of macaroni or apple cider dohnuts.
Liam frowned. He wanted to see her smile.
Listen, I know that I need a shower, but if you think I smell really bad, you can tell me.
He grinned. If a cheery Irish accent and a joke about smelling bad couldn't cheer her up, nothing would.
No need to be shy. I still don't even know you're name. Well, I do, since I prepared Bud's stall today and heard about you. Let me take a wild guess...Bre Walker?

[xxfeather]

Bre looked at him.
"Yes, that's my name. And you don't smell bad." she grinned.
Budweiser was also looking around, well it looked like he was gazing at the pastures, wanting to be turned out. Bre patted Bud's shoulder and nodded.
Maybe I should ride Bud, I don't know. she thought.
"Oh, and thanks for preparing my boy's stall."she added.
The thoughts of riding Bud were tempting, but Bud had only been there a couple of hours. Bud whinnied out in the pastures to where the other horses were. Some of them looked up at Bud and whinnied back, others continiued with their grazing.

As they walked along, Bre suddenly had made up her mind about Budweiser. She would ride him, maybe on the trails or something. Bre stopped Bud, who stamped his foot in anoyance.
"Would you like to go for a ride with us? Bre asked Liam.

[liam]

That's good, about me not smelling bad at least. He leaned against Dippy. The mare turned her head to sniff him, nudging at his hands.
And not a problem about preparing Bud's stall. Manure is my specialty. I'd love to go on that ride. The trails here are great.
Liam swung himself onto Dippy's bare back. He slowly got to his feet, triumphantly grinning. He then cartwheeled off of her back, sticking his landing.
Sorry about that. Dippy and I are considering running away to the circus. He laughed at his own joke.
He swung himself back onto Dippy's back, holding the lead rope in one hand.
So, can you go bareback and bridleless, or should we go back and get tack? He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly realizing that he was helmetless.
Not that I want to encourage dangerous things, Liam said in a whisper, like it were a secret, But I ride without a helmet so I don't mess up my hair.
He laughed and nudged Dippy into a slow walk. He turned her in a few tight circles, waiting for Bre's reply.

[xxfeather]

Bre quickly tied the lead rope into reins, she had learned this trick from her riding instructor months before her mother died. She paused for a moment, thinking of her mother, a small tear fell from her eye. She wiped it, then placed her hand on Bud's back, and hopped up and down. Bud turned his head over at her and looked at Bre like she was nuts. Atlast, she hopped up onto Bud's back.
"I've rode bareback at an equestrian camp a few years back. I remember falling off numerous times." she giggled.
She couldn't remember if it was the camp she bought Domino from, yes, it was. She bought Domino from her camp, and had been the one assigned to him that week. They bonded well, and she bought Domino. Bre squeezed at Bud's sides, making him budge forwards. Budweiser nickered happily, happy because Bre was riding him.

[liam]

Liam smiled when she laughed.
Don't feel bad, I'm super accident prone.
Liam glanced over at Bre. She was a good rider, with a soft seat and soft hands. Liam looked ahead, between Dippy's ears. The dappled gray mare continued to show interest in the stallion, but her ears were no longer pinned against her head.
So, where are you from? I'm from Kerry, in Ireland.
Liam looked at Bre carefully. She was shy, for one thing. She and her horse seemed to have a good bond though. He felt that she had some kind of secret to hide, much like he did. He nudged Dippy into a collected canter, bringing her through some flying lead changes.

[xxfeather]

Bre looked over at Liam, then tried not to remember what had happened back in Kentucky.
"Well, I was born in Lexington, Kentucky. And when I was young, I took lessons weekly. A couple years ago, my family moved over here to West Virginia, I liked it here, and they let me stay." she recalled that day, only a few years ago.
Budweiser was trotting, and Bre raised her outside leg and kicked Bud. He began to canter, something he hadn't done in a while. He was confused, and his stride was very abnormal.
Quit that! she muttered in Bud's ear.
"So Liam, you are from Ireland.. what's it like back there? Ever since I was young, I wanted to visit my grandparents who lived overseas, they're not in Ireland, but they live in Scotland." she explained as they cantered along side Liam.

[liam]

Lexington, huh? Land of the horse. Must've been nice there.
He tried to think back at what he had heard about Kentucky. He knew that some big horse races were held there. He wasn't quite sure what they were though.
Ireland is a nice place. Lots of castles and whatnot. And it's so green, it's blinding. It's really pretty out there. I lived near the sea for awhile. That was nice too, you could see the boats come in, the sunset on the water. The only bad thing about Ireland is all of the rain.
Liam nudged Dippy, who was trying to snatch a bite of grass.
And I've been to Scotland too, it's just like a postcard out there. When you get the chance, you should definately go there.
But Liam's freshest memory of Ireland was of the car crash. He started to picture his parent's bodies in his mind, quickly trying to think of something else. But the memory was too strong. He was having a flashback, and a bad one at that.
Suddenly, a thirteen year old Liam was riding a young Irish Sporthorse along a nice trail. They came to the highway, and could see police cars up ahead. There were ambulances and a fire truck. Liam rode over to the scene. He watched in horror as his parent's bodies were cut from the crushed car. Then, the police officer was rushing him away from the scene, asking questions and muttering his apoligies.
Liam began to shake, breaking into a cold sweat. He pulled Dippy to a stop, feeling sick to his stomach. All that he could see was the hair of Dippy's mane.
Wait, Bre. He called faintly.

[xxfeather]

Bre trotted over to Liam. He didn't look so good. Budweiser stood there, bent his neck and began grazing.
Bud, you weiner! she thought, shaking her head.
"What's wrong, Liam?"he asked, wondering if she could help.
She stood there patiently, stroaking Bud's neck. Bre held her hand out for Liam's mare to sniff her hand, but before anything could happen, she quickly stroaked the mare's muzzle. It felt velvety smooth, like Bud's. A worried expression covered her face, suddenly, she felt dull.
Maybe.. his parents died back in Ireland..she thought.
Bre had remembered that day in one of Lexington's hospital.

Beep, beep, beep. Went the sound of the machine. Bre was only ten, her brother eight. She remembered the smell of the hospital, a rush of many emotions flowing in her body. Happiness, sadness, life, and death. She hated hospitals, even when one of her parents,(at that time, her father Jacob) promised both Bre and Alexander, that the hospital would help her mother feel better. Lies. Bre snuggled beside her mother, tears falling from her pale blue eyes. Her mother hummed, the way she did when she was little. Alexander was at daycare, and Bre had been picked up early from school. The humming stoped, and her father told her to go home with him and let her rest.
The next day, Bre felt very sad. She didn't eat her lunch, and she sat on a swing through all recesses. When her father came to pick her up, he hugged her, and carried her to the care. On the way home, he drove to the hospital. He said,
"Bre, your mother will not be with us no more. She is about to pass on, she'll be watching over us. Let's go say good bye, try to make it quick, they are keeping her alive for only a little while longer." he explained. Alexander was already there, in the children's waiting area. Jacob payed a nurse to watch him. They gathered Alex, and went to thier mother's room. When Bre say her mother laying there, so helpless, she began to cry. She jumped up on the bed, and kissed her mother. Her mother looked at her, and stroaked her blonde hair. Her mother embraced both of her children, and kissed them both on the forheads, just like before bed time. They stayed in that posistion for another moment, then they were asked to step back.
Beep, beep, beeeeeeeeep....

Bre shook her head violently, forcing the tears back.
"Did your parents.. pass on?" she asked.
"My mother died six years ago, and I know how it feels."she said, trying to calm him.

[liam]

Liam looked up at Bre, his eyes filled with unexpected tears. He wondered how on earth she would possibly know about his parents.
Yeah, He said, suddenly feeling sick again, Bad car crash.
He shook his head again, as if to shake away all of the memories.
He looked at her again.
I'm sorry about your mom... He said softly.
A wave of anger washed through him.
I could've stopped them from dying. I could've told them not to go, that the roads were too bad. But I let them go, I let them die.
Liam could feel himself trembling. He did feel like the entire thing was his fault. He remembered the sodden pavement, that the car's brakes didn't always work well. But he had stayed back, he wanted to go on a trail ride.
It's been five years since my parents... He trailed off, staring into the fields.
He smiled, trying to make things better with a joke.
I seriously need some therapy. He laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair again. But there was a serious air between them now. Liam sighed softly, scratching Dippy's withers.
What happened to your mom, if you don't mind me asking?
All he wanted was for someone else to do the talking now. He felt sick, angry, completely depressed. It had been the first flashback in a long time. He thought that he had been getting better.

[xxfeather]

"Well, a couple of moths before my mother died, she had caught pnemonia, and she had stayed in the hospital, some days she felt wonderfull, others she felt like crap." she said, almost whispering.
"We burried her not far from our home, in the graveyard next to her brother, and by both her parents. Grandma and Grandpa Walker had moved to Scotland a year before, and they sent money to us to help pay with the funeral."
Bre tried not to cry, but she stayed strong and didn't. Budweiser's ears were back, as if he were listening to the whole conversation.

[liam]

Liam listened carefully to what she had to say. It was better than thinking of the bodies. He shivered.
I'm so sorry. He said softly, bringing Dippy up alongside Budweiser. He touched her hand, as if to comfort her. As if he could. His hair fell over his eyes, hiding them from Bre's view. He didn't want her to know that his eyes were tearing up.
But a tear rolled down his cheek.
Damn allergies. He said angrily, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. He bit his lip, knewing that she wouldn't buy it. I'm sure that the pollen count is pretty high today.
The thought of one of his foster homes plauged his mind.
Get up! His foster father shouted at him.
I can't! A fourteen year old Liam was sitting on his bed trying to point out his bleeding ankle.
His foster father stormed off, returning with his gun.
I told you to get up, boy!
I'm getting up! Liam had said, his voice pleading.
And then he had been shot in the arm. Liam absentmindedly touched the place on his arm where the scar from the bullet was.

[xxfeather]

Don't be. she whispered.
Bre had remembered that she'd have to go up to the graveyard where her mother was burried. She hadn't gone since the family left Kentucky. Bre sighed heavily, and Bud shook his enormous head. His mane flying in every direction.
It really sucks to not have your parents around. When mother died, father spent lots of time preparing for her funeral. A stone needed to be made, contacting relitives and booking a ballroom for the potlock dinner.she told him.
Bre could remember the scent of various foods in the ballroom, and all the aunts, uncles, cousins and even some great aunts that filled the room. You could barely get there, which really sucked.
I've been riding since I was little, and my mother had bought my first horse. I started competing a few years before her death, and haven't ridden a course since.she explained.
Ah, good times. Domino and Bre were very competitive, but had only won a couple of shows. Some competitions didn't take kindly to small, pintos. Most of the horses that competed in the region were all thoroughbreds . She'd dreamed of owning one, but in reality, she never did. She had Budweiser now. A strong, handsome Irish Sport Horse stallion. If he won some competitions, his value would increase, meaning the foal he produced could be worth a shiny penny. But Bre didn't dare thinking of this right now, because she had other things to worry about.