Blame Us Cause We Are Who We Are

Title: Blame us cause we are who we are and hate us cause you’ll never get that far

Author: alienangel19852003

Rating: M, language and adult situations

Summary: AU. Enter a world where Phil’s the rebel, Pim’s the well behaved proper girl. Keely’s the shy girl, Seth Wassumer is the most popular guy in school. Owen’s a closeted cheerleader and Keely’s only friend.

A/N: Keely’s sister Calliope, is of course AJ Michalka if you’ve read Falling Through at all, she has kind of cameo in that one.

“If you can’t leave it be you might as well make it bleed”

Phil found Keely in standing in the hallway, crying.

“Keely…are you alright, I can’t believe that bitch did that.”

“So you’re still talking to me?” she asked.

“Why wouldn’t I be? Because your mom is crazy? So what my father isn’t the picture of sanity, and neither are my mother and sister. I like you Keely.”

“Really,” she wiped tears off her face.

“Yeah, let’s get out of here.” He told her.

“But classes…”

“Please just let’s get out of here.”

“Okay. My car is out here.” She told him as they made their way outside.

“Let’s see the town.” He said.

“Well, there really isn’t much to see. There’s the mall, and the downtown area, but the shopping there isn’t great.”

“What’s with the big squeeze bottle in town?”

“Pickford is the Ketchup capital,” she said.

“Wow, a famous town. Pretty cool I guess.” Phil shrugged.

Keely looked nervous when they approached her car, “Um…look, this used to be my moms car. Her Caddy was her pride and joy. Its kind of old and one would say ugly. But I think it’s kind of nice.”

It wasn’t what Phil had expected a sliver Cadillac; it was in good condition, but a lot older than the cars he’d seen around school.

“It’s pretty cool spacious, kind of like the mob guys,”

Keely laughed, Phil loved the sound of her laugh already.

“If Bryce wasn’t a police officer, people would probably think I’m selling drugs in this thing.”

“Bryce?” Phil asked hoping that wasn’t her boyfriend.

“My stepfather.” Keely whispered, “My mom remarried a couple of years ago. But that was before...”

Her eyes seemed lighter all of a sudden, vacant as she ran her hand over the hood of the car.

She looked up at him again the look was gone.

“What are you waiting for hop in?” she asked with a smile.

Keely was really beginning to like Phil, she felt like she could trust him in a way she could only trust her younger sister Calliope. Calliope was only fourteen, and she went to a really nice private school in Handsometown. Calli had always been smarter than Keely and their mother saw to it that Calli was getting a good education. Going to school in H.G. Wells after their mother began having trouble was harder on Calli than it had been for Keely.

Calli had a rough go of it being in all the advanced placement classes to begin with so it was decided by Bryce and Mandy that they would send Calli to Handsometown Academy of Math, Science and the Arts. Once Mandy, their mother had been committed, Keely did her best to protect Calli from their stepfather’s abuse taking on the brunt of it on herself so her sister could live a somewhat normal and happy life.

Keely chased away her dark thoughts, and focused on the present, there was a cute boy beside her and they were ditching school. She prayed Bryce wouldn’t find out, it would be all the worse for her. He’d probably make her stop seeing Phil, and she wasn’t even seeing him like that. Apart of her wanted to. That part of her she thought was long gone. That part of her that wasn’t afraid of whether boys were looking at her, the part that wanted them to look, the part that tried desperately to remain pretty and keep in touch with the latest fashions.

But she wasn’t that girl anymore and boys wanted girls like that. Maybe if she’d meet Phil about three years ago when she was in ninth grade things would be different.

“Keely, how long has it been since you were happy?”

“Why do you ask that?”

“I don’t know, I’m trying to define the term and remember the last time I was truly happy. I don’t mean like the false happiness, the contentment that we all learn to fake, I mean really happy.”

“I don’t know,” Keely bit her lip and they drove on in silence for a few minutes.

She found a parking spot easily enough at the mall, and continued to ponder her new friend’s question.

“When I was five.” She stated plainly.

“That was a real long time ago Keely, are you sure that was the last time.”

“Yeah, my dad had taken me and my sister out on the boat, and it was fun, and I remember after we had our baths my mom and dad read a story, and me and Calli just fell asleep in their bed.”

“Wow, what happened to your dad?”

“He left,”

“I think it’s the general consensus of my family that my father should leave but he won’t.”

“What does he do to you? Why do you want him gone?”

“He does nothing really, he’s just big blundering idiot.” Phil told her.

“That’s not really a crime. I would give anything if my dad would come back,”

“You don’t like your mother’s new husband?”

“No,” she said flatly offering up none of the emotions surging inside of her, she wanted to tell Phil everything, but she couldn’t, he definitely wouldn’t want to talk to her then.

“Oh, I really didn’t mean to pry,”

“It’s okay Phil, I promise.” She said.

“The situation is okay or me asking is okay?”

“It’s okay to ask me questions we’re friends right.”

“Yeah,” he said looking away.

“Good, let’s go in and take a look around it’s been ages since I’ve gone shopping.”


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Phil laughed when he went into the present day mall, it only had two stories and there were no aliens in sight, no annoying astronauts selling moon rocks, and most importantly and best of all no alien trip hop blaring from the speakers. Most importantly in Phil’s case no armed robotic security guards, which meant that today everything was on a special five finger discount sale.

“I want to show you something.” Phil said leading her into a store that was blaring loud rock music.

“How’d I know you’d drag me into Hot Topic.” she smirked.

“Okay, if this isn’t your scene we can jet but I think it might be.” He said.

“I like this store.” she said with a hint of indignation in her voice that made Phil laugh.

“So what did you wanna show me?” she asked crossing her arms under her breasts.

He walked over to a wall full of sterling sliver jewelry that was on clearance and cast his gaze back at the clerk who was working she looked about their age and was talking to a boy who’d come out of the back with some records, totally oblivious to what Phil was thinking of doing.

He grabbed a pendant on a sliver chain, the pendant was a pentagram with a periwinkle stone at the center, and he worked it out of the flimsy package as they walked along and slipped into his pocket while Keely was distracted by some gloves with the fingers cut out of them with a chain attached at the wrist.

“Cute...” She said.

“You want them?”

“No, not really, you don’t have to buy them.”

“I guess I could buy them...I was thinking I should just I don’t know make them disappear and then reappear later on your hands.”

“You mean like steal them?” she whispered.

“Stealing is such a harsh term. I prefer acquiring, it sounds much classier.” he told her with a smirk.

“That sounds cool, but if we get caught I’ll fry.”

“What?”

“My stepdad, he’s a cop.”

“What?” Phil asked increasingly more alarmed than before.

“Yeah...” Keely said nervously.

“No wonder you don’t like him much, police workers around here seem all, “Respect my authority this”, “Suck my balls that,” and my personal favorite, “Arrive alive don’t drink and drive.” Phil said.

Keely laughed, “Yeah, it does seem that way. Have you ever been caught? You know acquiring things?”

“No, it’s much harder where I come from. So you either have to be really good at it or, you just better not do it at all.” Phil said.

“I didn’t think it would be too a tough crime to pull off in Kansas.”

“We don’t have much crime. Our police are a lot tougher, believe me. I’ve encountered them a couple dozen times. But that was just for trespassing, me and my friends liked to hang out in this old house. It had some really cool stuff in there. It was abandoned a long time ago, the structure was totally falling apart, we didn’t care if it fell in on us, and we wanted to learn everything we could about that time and how they lived.” Phil revealed, and now that he was here, he was going to enjoy life as an average present day teenager.

After collecting a few items, a Corpse Bride wallet with a clanking chain, gloves for Keely, two necklaces, and some t-shirts (those were harder by the way he had to use the Wizard when Keely wasn’t watching to get the tags off them).

“I can’t believe you got the t-shirts, everything else was just in a package or on cardboard.”

“Well, I know my way around the ink jets.” Phil smirked, he wanted to tell her he was from the future not to impress her but so she’d trust him completely.

They walked around for a bit, and Phil swiped more stuff, he was able to hide it in his leather jacket and Keely put some things in her purse. They ate soft pretzels which he paid for and didn’t steal and they talked about everything from school to politics, which he didn’t think Keely knew much about but of course she surprised him.

“Keely,” he began asking her the question he found most difficult.

“Phil, what time is it?” she asked panicked.

“Two forty five why?”

“We need to go pick up my sister now before she takes the bus home.” Keely said.

“Alright,” Phil said, shrugging he had to ask her before her sister got thrown into the mix.

“Keely, you wouldn’t happen to have a boyfriend would you?”

To his surprise she laughed, and he looked at her utterly confused, and he was becoming more taken with her.

“I’m sorry, no, I don’t have a boyfriend. The boys at school think I’m a freak.”

“I don’t think you’re a freak.” He told her sincerely.

She blushed, “So what about you, any girlfriend back in Kansas.”

“No, I was hardly the type of guy to date.” Phil said as they got back into her car.

“Explain...” she said.

“I would rather you learn this now than to find out later, I didn’t date girls-”

“Oh so you were...and then Owen oh...”

“No! Keely you misunderstand, I like girls, I slept with them it wasn’t ever permanent. No relationships, no commitments, it was one conquest after another.”

“I’m caught up here, what’s the plan with me? Are you trying to get me to go to bed with you?”

“I don’t know what I’m after,” he said honestly, “But I know you’re not like them, and I know I don’t want to hurt you. I haven’t made a move yet have I?” he asked.

“No... but for all I know this could all be one big move,” she said throwing her car into reverse.

“It isn’t, I can assure you that. I like you Keely. I can’t say I’ve really ever said that and meant it.”

“Wow, Phil...I like you too. I just didn’t think you’d want to do anything more than be friends with someone like me.”

“I didn’t think you’d want to be interested in being more than friends with a guy like me.”

“I think you’re pretty nice.” she told him, “And since I saw you in class I wanted to be more than friends with you even though I was afraid.”

“Were you afraid of me?”

“Not of you. Of boys in general, I don’t have the best track record with men,” she didn’t dare look at him when she said that.

“How come?” He asked.

“I-I...don’t want to talk about it...” she stuttered.

“I’m sorry, I’ll try to ease off a bit.” he told her.

“S-someone hurt me Phil, and it’s not a situation I can just get out of. I don’t want to drag you into this as much as I’d like for us to start something I know that I’m not going to really want to be physical with you and you seem to be used to that so I’m just going to I don’t know... leave it alone. If you still want to be friends we can if you don’t I understand.”

“Keely, I’m really sorry. If you want to be friends we can be friends I’m cool.”

“Okay, good.” she tried to force a smile, but Phil knew she was so close to breaking and he hoped he’d be there to help her get put back together again.

They pulled up at a building that looked like one of those churches from Gothic style paintings that Phil had seen in virtual museums and such.


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A loud bell sounded, classes should be ending soon. Keely couldn’t wait for Calli to meet Phil, she knew her sister would give her honest opinion on him. Keely drummed the steering wheel with her fingers and finally gave in switching on her CD player the car only had a tape deck but it was functional enough for her to put the adapter in, and Heart blared from her speakers.

She switched to track six on one of their greatest hits albums, and Alone began to play. She’d first heard the song as a little girl and the haunting melody and the powerful voice of Ann Wilson stayed with her.

“Keely...what is this song?” Phil asked, he looked scared, troubled, pensive and excited all at once.

“Alone. It’s by a band called Heart. My sister and I totally idolize them.” Keely said.

“I’ve never heard this but I heard this before.” Phil looked at her sharply.

“What? That makes a kind of sense that’s senseless.”

“My dreams...” Phil whispered.

“I’ve never heard this song, but I’ve had dreams where it’s being played and...” he trailed off frowning making the cutest face.

“You were there.” he said.

“What? You dreamed of me before you met me?” she asked.

“Yes, and hearing you play the song, triggered it all. We were in this place, with these huge windows the stars were so bright and you were twirling dancing to the song. You stopped and told me that you wanted to stay with me forever but you couldn’t because someone would find out and you didn’t want me to get hurt.” he told her.

“I don’t understand.”

“Me either.” he said, “This is wierd maybe we shouldn’t talk about this.”

Keely could swear he was blushing before he could continue things her sister came running up to the car. She pulled open one of the back doors and hopped in, imediately rattling off about the events of the day before noticing Phil.

“Oh, hey...who is this? I didn’t know you had any friends who were this cute...” Calli said.

“Phil, I’d like you to meet the enternal chatter box, my younger sister Calliope.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Phil said.

“Likewise. Okay, we’re going to have to have a major talk tonight sis.”

“Calli!”

“What? I’m just saying.”

“Phil and I just met today so don’t you go scaring him off.”

“Me? Never.” Calli laughed and Keely began to drive away from the school.

“She seems harmless to me.” Phil said.

“Harmless but annoying you’ll learn that pretty soon.” Keely told him.

“Can we please, please go by the Smoothie King so I can get a berry banana? And Check out that total hottie Ryan who works front counter.” Calli begged.

“Sure whatever, I wasn’t planning on going home too soon anyhow.” Keely muttered.

“Asshole doesn’t start his shift until five.”

“She’s a regular breath of fresh air isn’t she…” Keely said dryly.

“So it’s the general consensus that your stepfather is a douche?”

“I think that might be a bit too good for him if you ask me. I just can’t wait till w graduate and get the hell out of that house.” Calli said.

“She thinks he’s going to let her graduate with us next year, she’s taken all the courses and stuff. But I doubt he’ll let her. I’ll probably stick around town until she does graduate though…” Keely said.

“Keely, you don’t have to do that. You’ve put up with far too much when it comes to him–”

“We’re here.” Keely said pulling into the Smoothie King parking lot.

They went in and got smoothies and then they went down to the park. Calli wandered away from Phil and Keely after giving her sister a suggestive wink. They were sitting on a park bench staring at the huge squeeze bottle making fun of it.

“I really had fun with you today,” Keely said looking down at her lap.

“I had fun with you too Keel…” he said.

“I like that.”

“I forgot this when I was giving out the spoils of war.” He reached in the pocket of his leather jacket and handed her a pentagram pendant with a periwinkle stone at the center.

“Phil, this is really nice. Thanks, I love it.”

“You’re welcome I didn’t know what you would like so I grabbed that it’s purple, just like your steering wheel cover. I’m babbling aren’t I?”

She smiled, and shifted on the park bench, “Yes, a little.”

“I know you said you didn’t want to make this into anything but I can’t…not you know. It so random and strange that I’d come here and meet you. It feels right you know, in a way nothings been right in a really long time fore me. But I have to ask you out. On a date.” Phil said.

“Phil…I really don’t know about this…” Keely said.

“I understand if you don’t want to you told me that you weren’t ready. I’m sorry.” He said averting his eyes.

“I really want to Phil but I’m scared.” She gently touched his hand.

“I’d never hurt you.”

“I know that much, let’s try it. When do you want to go out?”

He stared at her intently, “This Friday. The mall, movies, dinner, and hopefully I’ll get to kiss you goodnight.”

Keely could barely breathe, she wanted him to kiss her desperately, but she was terribly afraid that that male part of him would take over and he too would violate her.

“Am I rushing a bit?”

“No, I’m just falling behind.” She whispered staring at his lips.

She glanced around seeing her sister petting a golden retriever that a boy about her age was walking.

“Do you want to kiss me now?” she asked.

“Yes.” He said.

“I’m scared but I’m willing to try.”

“Alright.” Phil said


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He leaned in finally being granted permission to do the thing he’d been thinking about since he’d walked into that classroom. He intended for it to be quick and simple. But it became a tender caress of lips, that she responded to in a way he didn’t expect. He broke the kiss so they could breathe and he also wanted to look at her. She was still staring at his mouth.

“Phil…” she whispered.

“Yeah,”

She didn’t answer she cupped his face and kissed him again. This kiss was different, it was passionate there was no more disguising their attraction to one another or their obvious chemistry. Before he knew it they were making out on the park bench.

“You know, I hate to interrupt… but I really don’t we need to it’s getting dark soon I’ve got seven courses worth of homework to finish.” Calli said standing over them.

Phil broke off the kiss and blushed staring up at the girl, she was a lot like Keely in terms of looks. Both were beautiful blonde, Calli was shorter, her hair was longer and her cheek bones and the set of her mouth was different from Keely’s.

Calli had a ballsy way about her and it made Phil respect her for it. She was standing there with her arms folded under her chest; she had long ago discarded her school blazer and was just wearing a long white oxford shirt and her plaid school uniform skirt. She was looking every bit the angry school girl.

“Let’s get out of here before she blows a gasket.” Keely said.

“Yeah, my more is probably wondering what the hell happened to me.” Phil said.

Keely drove him home and he kissed her again before getting out the car and going into his house and into the snake pit.

“Phillip James Diffy! What is this I hear about you using foul language in class and then skipping school!” His mother demanded.

“I didn’t know any better. And I had to get out of there. I made a friend and she was having a bad day. I had to take care of her.” Phil explained.

“Did you take care of her like you did Tiffany? Or like you did Michelle? Or Hannah?” his mother asked.

“This is different.” It was the first time he’d defended any of his conquests so she didn’t continue.

“Look, I’m too worried to be fighting with you Phil. We’re in a new century it’s a whole new world for us a chance to start over, and also a bigger risk of messing up and exposing our secret to the world.”

“I know that. I wouldn’t blow our cover. I got little more sense than that.” Phil told her.

“Well, I hope you be more careful. I don’t want this girl’s father calling me to tell me what you’ve done to his daughter. No more farmers chasing you with shovels, and you’d better not get anyone pregnant either.”

“Again, I’ve got a little more sense than that. And it’s not about scoring with Keely. She’s this amazingly sexy girl and I don’t even want to go to bed with her!” Phil said.

His mother eyed him curiously.

“I do want to go to bed with her, but I don’t just want to you know.” Phil said.

“Well, I guess that’s a step in the right direction. It’ll give you something to focus on while you’re grounded this weekend.”

“Come on Mom. I’ve got a date with her on Friday, I can’t mess this up.”

“I’m sorry, Phil. You skipped school and took off without calling me,”

“Please. I promise I’ll be a model citizen for the next couple of weeks.” Phil said.

“Try the next few days. I don’t think you can go a week without getting into anything or anyone.” She said.

“Famous.” He said, before turning to run off.

“I mean thank you.” He called over his shoulder.


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Keely was laughing at her sister’s antics as she pushed open the door to the house she’d lived in for years. It hadn’t felt the same since her mother had remarried, Keely had been eleven at the time and Calli had been only nine. It was easier for Keely to recollect the days before Bryce had shaken up the foundation of their home.

“I was wondering when the two of you would come strolling in.” the living room was dark and Bryce’s voice was just as dark and cold enough to send a sheet of ice down Keely’s spine.

“Give me a freaking heart attack why don’t you? I thought you were supposed to be at the station why are you sulking around here in the dark?” Calli said holding her chest.

Bryce ignored her, “Since when do you go cutting classes, and getting sent to the principal’s office?”

Keely froze, she’d never ditched before she didn’t know they’d call him.

“I–i-I don’t know…” she whispered.

“Calli, don’t you have some homework to be getting in?” Bryce demanded rising up from the chair he frequented.

“Why because you want me gone so you can smack my sister around a little bit?” she asked.

“Calli, go okay. I’ll be fine.”

Calli glared at Bryce before running upstairs.

Bryce walked forward. He was a good deal younger than Mandy, closer to Keely’s age than her mother’s. He was barely ten years older than her. And he looked much younger. He was well over six feet red hair, turquoise eyes and a light dusting of freckles on his face. There was no denying he was handsome, Keely’s mother had been immediately taken with him after he’d given her a parking ticket.

Keely took a deep breath and steeled herself for the verbal assault first he’d tell her what a disappointment she was, and that she was worthless, he go on about how she was probably off in the streets making it with some boy. Then finally her favorite he’d tell her how stupid she was, how she never brought home anything better than B’s.

This time Keely didn’t cry, his words had no effect. She’d found someone who didn’t think she was a worthless stupid tramp.

“You didn’t hear me did you?” he asked invading her personal space.

She didn’t like being near him at all, because whenever he was around her he had the tendency to hurt her really bad. She backed up against the wall.

“The told me you left school with some kid. A transfer student. Some hoodlum in a leather jacket. Did you let him fuck you? I bet you did. You’re just like your mother you know that.”

“You don’t get to talk about her you’re the reason she’s in that hospital!” Keely shouted before she could stop herself.

“Finally some fire some bit of a spark there Keely. He must have really given it to you.”

“Shut up!” Keely said.

He hit her then, several times so hard and fast she could barely draw breath in between the blows. He was always so careful to avoid her face. He didn’t want to leave trace of evidence, it was all about evidence and all she had was circumstantial.

Keely cowered on the floor sobbing until he was satisfied with the way he’d beat her. She was bleeding from the lip, she’d somehow bumped her mouth when she’d fallen. If she was bleeding internally and it was coming from the mouth that was never good. It hadn’t happened before, and who’s to say it wouldn’t. it seemed the beatings were getting worse and more frequent for little things like leaving dishes in the dishwasher something so trivial.

“I gotta go to work, wash those close and when I get home you’d better have something cooked girl.” With that he was gone.

Keely got up and did what he said, she pretended everything was okay with Calli it was a game they played. Sometimes she knew Calli could hear her screaming in the other room. At first Calli had wanted to help, she’d even challenged Bryce and Keely had pleaded for her sister’s silence in exchange for Bryce’s undivided attention. Bryce wouldn’t lay a hand on Calli and she would keep her mouth shut, it seemed like a fair trade to Keely if it meant keeping her sister safe.

They never talked about the beatings or everything that went along with them, not for Calli’s lack of trying though. It was a discussion that Keely didn’t want to have and she prayed she’d never have to talk about it with Phil.

Keely was still awake long past midnight lying there thinking about Phil. She sighed when she heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs; she prayed Bryce wouldn’t be stopping by her room tonight. Her ribs hurt enough from the beating this afternoon she didn’t need any more pains.

Slowly but surely he edged her door open. She saw his blue eyes glinting in the dim light of the moon that shined through her bedroom window. He took off his police uniform staring right at her. She shut her eyes tight as he made his way over to her bed. A rush of cool air hit her when he yanked back her blankets the cold only replaced by his hot skin against hers.

She lay silent and still while he took what he wanted violently invading her body. It was better not to fight. It hurt a lot less when she didn’t fight, when she didn’t move and tried not to even breathe. She heard him leave and she violently snatched her night gown off the floor.

She wished that someone would help make the nightmare end for her, she dreamed of her and Calli just running away, but she knew he’d find them and she’d have hell to pay. She shut her eyes tightly and she could see Phil in her mind, his smile, his voice his hand on her face. If he knew that she’d been touched like this he’d never want her then. She debated telling him, he indeed had a right to know everything before starting with her.

Her mind wrestled with the idea before she became so exhausted all she could do was close her eyes and fall into a sleep so deep she had to be nearly shaken out of it.