Aimee hated living in a care home. There was always some form of chaos going on and she could never get a minute of peace.
Obviously there were plenty of kids to make friends with, but watching them get fostered and leave was the worst. That was why Aimee was as happy as she was.
When she first came into foster care she went to Burnywood, that was where she met her Liam O'Donovan. Her bestfriend, along with Frank of course.
Today was the day he came back from his ex foster home. Liam had been Aimee's partner in crime and the one time he pulled a scam on his own, it just happened his foster parents had enough.
Aimee was sitting in the hall awaiting his arrival, Tracy storming up the stairs, going to hoover.
Aimee rolled her eyes at her childish behaviour. Tracy had promised to help Carmen into Lily's room, but instead she showed up late and didn't help at all. That whole morning was a mess.
Mike walked in after what felt like years with Liam's bags, Frank following behind him.
"Where is he?" Aimee asked, very excited to see Liam.
"He was right behind me." Mike told the girl, it sounding more like a question.
Aimee realised where he must be, her suspicious confirmed when she heard screams from upstairs. She ran towards the noise, into Poppy and Roisie's.
"So I guess this ain't my room no more." Liam says as he struggles to get through the window.
"Clearly not." Aimee says, chuckling. "You're finally back!"
"Oh hey Aims, a little help here?"
She pulls the boy up, helping him in, seconds before Gina and Mike storm into the room.
"Oh for goodness sake! Could you not come in the front door like everybody else?" Gina asks. "What did you think you were doin', huh? What you want to end up a pile of broken bones on the floor?"
"Oh nice to see you too Gina, see this is why I didn't want to walk through the front door." He sighs dramatically and walks towards the door. "So where am I staying then?"
***
"The pink palace" Liam announces "My favourite."
"We'll help paint it." Frank says, gesturing between him and Aimee. She nods her head enthusiastically.
"Entertainment is better than I remember." Liam gestures to the dancing girl in the room while recording her.
"She works here." Aimee tells the boy as she turns around.
"Oh hey Liam." Tracy greets him.
"Oh hey. Writing career going on well then?" He asks her. Everyone stares at them in confusion and they seem to get the hint as Liam gasps. "Oh! Yeah, we met in prison."
Everyone then turns to look at Tracy.
"We met at the police station." She clears up. The relief in Tee's face is evident and Aimee thought it was quite amusing.
"Heard you were coming back. You ok?" She asks the boy, recieving a confused look in confusion.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Liam asks with a slight laugh.
"Cause your back here and not with your foster family?"
"Yeah but..." He trails off taking the bottle of him and Aimee's homemade fizzy drink from Tee. "...They didn't have a pink bedroom, or a Aimee AND a Frank."
"Let's talk." Aimee, Liam and Frank start to walk out but Tracy stops the other two. "Er, just Liam guys."
"But he only just got here." They both complain.
"Tell you what, I'm making lunch today. How about I make you both a burger."
"You'll forget Tracy." Aimee whines.
"No I won't." She looks offended at the girl, despite it being the truth.
"Take it mate." Liam tells the pair.
"Burger." Frank decides and Aimee has no choice to agree as Tracy shakes their hands.
"Deal. Come on." She gets Liam to follow her to the toy cupboard.
Aimee and Frank both look at each other, confused about what Tracy could possibly want with Liam.
"What do you reckon that's about?" Frank asks the girl while they begin to sort the pink palace for Liam
"Your guess is as good as mine mate."
***
After Liam's confusing talk with Tracy he finds the two in Aimee's room, which happened to be right next door to Liam's new room, waiting for the boys arrival.
They soon leave for the kitchen and gather around with Toby, Tee and Harry.
"You are witnessing, the birth of Aim-ade," Liam starts. Aim-ade was Aimee and Liam's attempt at a homemade fizzy drink.
"The greatest fizzy drink of the 21st century." Aimee finished proudly. They had been working on this for months on end and were finally getting close to it being perfect.
"They'll blow it up." Frank states.
"What?!" Toby worried, far too much sometimes in Aimee's opinion.
"It doesn't blow up." The girl pathetically reassures him as Liam adds some powder into it.
"It does." Frank states again.
"Ok, it did once, but it wasn't supposed to happen."
"What did happen, then?" Tee asks.
"I stored it under my foster mum and dad's bed." Liam says.
"I still can't believe you did that." Aimee laughs. She had got a phone call from Liam 2 minutes after it happened and his foster parents cries in the background didn't seem happy.
"You killed your foster parents?!" Toby started to panic again.
"No! I just.. gave em a shock and.. got them a little bit soggy." Liam finishes. That was a clear understatement.
"But, it is safe now though?" Tee asks.
"Course," Aimee said very unconvincingly adding a bit if lemon juice, "We have made improvements."
Liam adds some more baking powder and the liquid starts to fizz more then before. Toby leans forward on the counter more.
"Is the bottle getting bigger?"
"Uh. I think we better run!" Liam says as he pulls Aimee out of the kitchen by the arm.
"Whoa, slow down! Somebody will have an accident!" Mike yells to the group of kids as he walks up to the counter. The drink then explodes all over Mike.
"Ok now we need to run!" Aimee whisper-yelled to them. They all sprint into the living room. Aimee, Liam and Frank all hide behind the sofa, waiting for the coast to be clear.
After they hear Mike storm out of the room they get out of the hiding spots. Suddenly Aimee bursts out laughing, making everyone else laugh aswell.
***
Liam and Aimee had to clean up after our explosion and they were currently wiping the counter-top. Everyone starts talking about the things Tracy has done wrong so far.
"Eh, Tracy promised me and Aimee a burger." Frank says as Gina is dishing their lunch.
"Yeah, well, Tracy isn't here is she Frank?" She asks rhetorically.
"I'm definitely adding that to my list" Gus says, writing it down in his notebook.
"Give her a break, she only just started." Liam says, in defense of the new worker.
"Yeah. What do think people thought of you when you first came here Gus." Aimee adds, sitting down between Liam and Frank.
"You were strange." Harry tells him.
"Yeah well, you think your giraffe talks." Gus says rudely.
"Come on, leave him alone Gus."
Aimee had always been a bit protective over Harry. He was like the little brother she never had and if anything ever happened to him she would be devastated. Same with Frank and Liam, although she didn't typically think of Liam like a brother.
Liam told Gus to make a list of the good things Tracy has done, instead of focusing on the bad. He then went on to say about how she had helped him out at the police station.
"Oh. Yes. And Tracy's criminal record is an inspiration to us all." Gina said sarcastically.
"At least its not as bad as Aimee and Liam's." Carmen says.
"Oh come on we haven't been arrested that many times." Aimee groaned, knowing that it was nothing but lies.
"Yeah. Come on." Liam adds. Everyone just gave the pair a look, basically saying 'we all know that's not true'.
"Ok maybe we have. But I've now been arrested one less time then he has."
Aimee put her hands up in surrender as Liam shoved her lightly as he laughed lightly.
Tracy finally came back as lunch was ending.
Gina then comes in and starts bickering with her about how you can't break a promise to a care kid. Aimee knew Gina was right, although she was being a bit harsh.
Mike then comes down and tells the kids to go upstairs but obviously they all stay at the bottom of the stairs so they can see and hear everything.
The incident ends in Tracy smashing a plate on the floor, storming out and quiting.
***
Liam and Aimee were sitting in the dark haired girl's room talking when Gus walks in.
"What is one thing Tracy did that you like?" He asks the pair.
"Um.. I don't know she makes it so that me and Liam aren't the only ones causing trouble I guess." Aimee said.
Truth be told she felt as though ever since Tracy came along she had been less in the light of trouble.
"Yeah. She takes some of the heat off us." Liam agreed with her.
"Ok. Thank you." He closes his notebook and walked out.
"God he's weird." Aimee said making Liam laugh.
"Come on. Let's go find something to do." He then proceeds to pull her up off of the bed, grab their Aim-ade and pull her into the hall.
"Aimee?" Carmen calls from her room, Aimee looks at Liam and they both walk in.
"Yo." She greets the girl.
"Lily doesn't want to be friends anymore."
Aimee felt bad for her, honestly she did, but she didn't really know what to say. She never had to worry about losing her bestfriend because she knew she was always going to be stuck with him.
"That's how it is in a place like this. You'll get used to it."
Her and Liam turn to walk out but Carmen stops them.
"But Liam's in my room, I've got nowhere to sleep."
"Yep, the pink palace is now our lair. It's not like your homeless you've still got a bed." Liam says to her. 'Not very comforting' Aimee though but she knew she probably couldn't do any better.
"In a room where I'm not wanted."
"Listen," The older girl says walking over to her with Liam following behind. "You and Lily, you've just gotta get used to each other. It's a big deal, living with someone you're not used to."
"Is it?"
"One of the biggest things ever." Liam adds.
"I mean look at him. He blew his foster parents up! Did you blow Lily up?"
She shakes her head no.
"Look your doing better than me already. Just give her a bit of space, eh?"
"And don't blow her up. Yeah?"
"Thanks." Carmen says smiling gratefully.
***
The pair decided to go find Tracy and cheer her up. They thought 'why not?" seeing they did so well with Carmen. They found her out in the back garden on the swing sadly.
"What are you doing out here?" Aimee asks her.
"What do you think?" She asks sarcastically. They walk over beside her.
"Last bottle of Aim-ade. Want some?" Liam asks her. She doesn't reply so he sets it down on the ground.
"So why'd you come back to the Dumping Ground?" Aimee asks.
"Needed a job."
"Yeah, but here?"
She just stays silent.
"You don't have to pretend with us." Liam tell her. She looks up from the ground to the pair.
Liam had told Aimee about their conversation earlier and although she found it quite strange, it was sweet how much Tracy cared.
"What?"
"Being back here, it sucks right." He says dramatically, the three laugh. The pair decide to sit down against the tree to listen to Tracy talk.
"I worked so hard to get away from this place and now I'm back. Well I was."
"You showed some back there."
"Everyone was watching, weren't they?"
"Not everyone, but the people who weren't, got it acted out for them."
"Oh, no."
"It was a laugh. 'I quit!' Tshhh!" Aimee acted out.
"Oh, what was I thinking."
"Oh, forget it."
"It's done. You don't see us crying over something we can't change." Liam tells her.
"You wanna see someone cry, go write in Gus' notebook." Aimee jokes as they stand up.
"Who told you?"
"He did, of course. Well that's your Aims and Liam time up. So drink up and shove off." He pours her a glass of Aim-ade.
She chuckles then takes a sip and spits it out straight after. Both Aimee and Liam laugh at her reaction.
"Yeah. Takes a bit of getting used to." She laughs then walks back in the house and the two sit on the swing she was on before.
"I hope Tracy stays." Aimee announces. "She's the only care worker who is fun."
"Yeah, she probably will stay because Mike is well... Mike." Liam says as he pats the girls shoulder gently.
2013 words
(A/N) this is literally like my millionth time rewriting this because i never stick to it in the two years its been in my drafts.