the only exception

Phoebe knew better than to stay out too late at night, always home before the sun even had a chance to show signs of its arrival. This was partly due to the fact that she wasn't allowed to be out past 8pm anyway. It was more so due to the fact that she never listened to that and snuck out of the bathroom window most nights anyway.

So, as long as she was home before the sun was up and tucked under her covers, no one ever knew.

This night was no exception. Her friends, namely Jess, Kristen, and Ryder decided that they would spend the night running around Nashville, going to the park to watch all the drunk people stumbling out of bars.

It wasn't much, and it wasn't all that exciting, but it was all there was to do, really.

Phoebe was only 13, even if she tried to convince herself she was older, held herself higher than that.

"Holy shit, look what I just found." Ryder grinned, returning from his stroll around the picnic tables.

Phoebe propped her chin on her hand, sitting on top of one of the tables as her elbows dug into her knees.

Ryder quickly pulled a small box out from behind his back, his smile bright like christmas morning.

"Where'd you get that?" Kristen asked quickly, her eyes wide with an urgency Phoebe couldn't quite understand.

Ryder gestured behind him, "Someone must've dropped it under one of the tables. It's basically a full pack." He grinned, popping the box of cigarettes open to show off his find. "You got a lighter, Jess?"

"Probably," she replied easily, setting her bag between her knees and shuffling through it. Within minutes they were passing around a lit cigarette, taking easy inhales as if it was something they did too often.

"Pheebs?" Kristen offered, holding the stick between them.

Phoebe shook her head, only a hint of teasing in her voice, "You guys are gross. What if the guy who dropped those has ebola or something?"

Jess laughed, leaning over to snatch it out of Kristen's hand instead, "Suit yourself."

They'd all smoked before, like it was something they were supposed to do, something that just made sense. Phoebe couldn't really explain why she indulged sometimes, besides the fact that all her friends did it.

To her it was just kind of gross, and she never fully got the appeal.

"I'm gonna go get a drink from Marco's, you guys want anything?" Phoebe asked, standing up and slinging her bag over her shoulder, already in the process of moving, walking backwards towards the street.

They all shook their heads no, followed by an offer to join her on the walk to the gas station a few blocks away.

"All good, I'll be back in a few." She replied easily, turning around and continuing on.

Walking alone at night didn't freak her out nearly as much as it should, in fact barely bothered her at all unless she was walking in one of the back alleys. It was easy walking around these streets. Constantly lit up, constantly filled with people.

It was just the alley's that freaked her out a bit, but it was the quickest way to get to the gas station, and she didn't feel like adding 5 minutes to the walk there.

The familiar tingle ran up her spine as she walked through it, her head held high and constantly checking her peripheral for signs of life.

About halfway through, one of the doors opened, and just her luck, she was walking up to it as it happened and ran right into it.