Sheriff Carl Bryant probably has the nicest house Lizzy’s ever seen. It stands proudly, with it’s pristine coat of paint (not a single chip!), perfectly manicured hedges, and cobblestone walkway that takes Lizzy and her mother up to the door. Her mom keeps fixing herself – she pats her hair down and she straightens her already straightened blouse for some reason. Then she inhales, and she lets it out slow. Lizzy’s eyes slowly wander as she feels the beginnings of some sort of lecture just like the ones she got on the way over. Please don’t embarrass me, please behave, please don’t say this, don’t say that. Her mom’s not given much more time though, before the door opens and the sheriff is standing there with his creepy smile and dead eyes.

“Hey baby,” he says first to Lizzy’s mom, and the two share a kiss that causes Lizzy’s eyes to roll just a bit. They seem to remember pretty quickly that Lizzy’s there, and they stop their googly eyes and PDA for the time being. Sheriff Bryant lets them into his house and right away, the girl Lizzy sees him pick up all the time from the dance studio comes trotting out into the entryway. She’s hyperactive and smiley and Lizzy’ mom seems charmed by her in away Lizzy’s never seen before. She formally introduces herself as ‘BRITTANY ANN!’ and sticks her hand out to the both of them. Lizzy’s mom is the first to shake the little girl’s hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Brittany,” she says before eyeing Lizzy to follow suit. It’s not as if the two haven’t met before at the studio, but she’s never known the little girl’s name. In fact, Lizzy found herself avoiding the little girl the moment she found out Sheriff Bryant and her mom were dating.

“Hi Brittany, I’m Lizzy,” Lizzy finds her voice somewhere, and she gives the girl a limp handshake. There’s a thumping on the stairs by the entry way, causing Lizzy to look up from Brittany Ann and take notice of the other girl she’s never seen before stomping her way down the stairs. Her hair is carrot orange, and she has a sour look on her face. She’s almost the exact opposite of the bubbly, platinum blonde-haired princess Lizzy sees twirling around the dance studio all the time.

“This is my other daughter, Victoria,” Sheriff Bryant says, pulling the redhead in close but her expression never changes. Lizzy finds herself wondering if her attitude is the reason why Sheriff Bryant’s never brought her up before, in the few conversations Lizzy has had with him. He sings Brittany Ann’s praises for sure, but Victoria’s been like a secret or something.

“Hi Victoria, I’m Elaine,” Lizzy’s mother extends her hand and the way Victoria seems to just ignore her has Lizzy fascinated. She doesn’t seem to care about her dad, and certainly doesn’t seem to care about Lizzy and her mom being there. After being nudged by her dad though, she does shake Elaine’s hand, and gives her an exaggerated smile that shows off every single one of her sharp teeth. “And uh…this is my daughter Lizzy.” Elaine then brings Lizzy in front of her, creating a shield between Elaine and Victoria. Victoria’s smile fades as she stares down at Lizzy with the same kind of pout she was just giving her dad.

“Hi,” Victoria’s brief and she asks her dad if she can go back to her room.

“Yeah, why don’t you show Lizzy your room?” Sheriff Bryant suggests.

At first Victoria looks like she’ll argue, but then Carl gives her that look – that look all parents seem to have mastered. Victoria huffs and gives in, and the two girls start to walk upstairs without saying a word to each other. Victoria stomps up every single step and then pushes her door open for the two of them. She throws her arms up like she’s giving some kind of presentation and then she says, “Welcome to my room. Don’t touch anything.” She plops down onto her bed, and she grabs an open magazine off the shelf beside her. Lizzy stays in the doorway, but she begins to look around because Victoria’s walls are covered in posters. Most of Lizzy’s friends usually have one or two posters of Zac Efron or the Jonas Brothers on their wall, but Lizzy doesn’t recognize anyone on Victoria’s.

Motley Crue, Led Zeppelin, Ratt…who’s listening to a band called RATT? Gross.

“You can COME IN…just don’t touch anything,” Victoria says after a short silence. “I already have one little sister breaking my crap all the time…” she then mumbles.

Lizzy’s not exactly sure what the girl wants her to say, so she says the first thing that comes to mind, which is, “Sorry…” Victoria then looks up at her and her expression becomes less harsh.

“It’s not YOUR fault…” Victoria sits up, and she closes her magazine. “Just my dad’s,” her eyes then roll.

“And my moms,” Lizzy says quickly. Both of them look at each other, and they laugh a little before Victoria moves and creates space on the bed for Lizzy. Lizzy comes to sit beside her and she finds herself looking at all of Victoria’s posters again. “So…you…seem to like boys – a lot….and rats.”

“Rats?” Victoria laughs a little. “It’s Ratt, dummy, not RATS. You’ve never heard of ‘em before?”

“No,” Lizzy shrugs.

“Alright then!” Victoria says, springing up from the bed and walking over to the CD player she has on her dresser. “Get ready to have your life changed.”