someone to stay, ⁹¹¹

𝟎𝟎𝟏.

Twenty-three-year-old Evan Buckley had freshly moved to Los Angeles and he wanted to do something with purpose.

Something that he had always wanted to do, but hadn't done. Be a father. He was young, he knew that, but he dreamed of being a dad from a young age. He wanted to give a child the chances he never got.

That's how he found himself at the children's shelter.

It had been a long process, but he'd recently gotten the go-ahead to start fostering, along with the start of his LAFD training.

He was here today to meet a twelve-year-old girl, Juniper Jade Matthews.

He'd been told she had come from an abusive family, and he knew bits and pieces of the trauma she went through, but he didn't know much.

The woman he talked to assumed it would make him want to back out, as most families go for the younger, less damaged children, but hearing those words made him want to take care of this girl even more.

As he and Chloe, the case manager, made their way through the centre, he smiled at the staff and children they walked by as they made it to the room she had been staying in.

He knocked on the door softly before entering. As he and the blonde girl locked eyes, something inside of him clicked. He almost felt as if he was looking into a mirror.

"Hi, JJ-" She sat up. "Only my friends call me JJ." He nodded. "Sorry, Hi, Juniper. I'm Evan, you can call me Buck, you're gonna be staying with me for a bit." She nodded briefly.

JJ then proceeded to throw her iPod, a pair of earphones, her drawing book, and a few pairs of clothes in a bag, making his eyes widen slightly. "Is that all you have?" He questioned. "Yeah. The shelter offers us clothes but they make me feel like a prisoner." He chuckled. "Okay then."

After doing all the legal stuff, JJ and Buck left the building and headed to his jeep. The blonde girl stood in front of the car, almost in awe. Buck then placed a hand on her shoulder, making her flinch back. "Sorry. You can put your stuff in the back." She nodded.

JJ sat in the passenger seat with a distant look in her eyes. She'd been in the system for nearly four years, she knew how this worked by now.

They'd foster her for nearly a year, realise how damaged she was and send her back. Evan or 'Buck', wouldn't be any different. But she'd make the most of the free food and clothes. Anything's better than the shelter.

Buck seemed like a nice man, from the few sentences he'd spoken, but JJ knew he'd give up on her. Everybody did.

"You wanna get ice cream?" Buck's happy voice interrupted her thoughts. "Sure." She mumbled.

This is how it went last time. The family that fostered her took her out for ice cream and made her feel at home, but when the panic attacks and nightmares came, they quickly sent her back to the shelter.

She didn't think Buck would be any different. She wasn't getting her hopes up.

Once they pulled up outside the ice cream place, Buck turned to JJ. "You wanna find us a seat while I order?" She flashed him a small smile with a nod. "Can I have cookie dough please?" He smiled brightly at her choice. "That's my favourite too! Of course, you can!" Her smile grew slightly. "Thanks."

As JJ went to find a seat outside, she began to think about the man who decided to foster her. He seemed younger than the two families she'd been placed with, and he was alone. He didn't seem to have a family. But he seemed kind. He had a bright smile, one that made her lips curl up to match.

But still, she wouldn't get her hopes up.

"Two cups of cookie dough ice cream." Buck placed her ice cream in front of her, a wide smile still on his face.