~KAHLAN~
Carly yelled and whooped as we ran out onto the football field, the rest of us followed in her lead. We quickly got into our formations and welcomed the team onto the field. As I screamed along with the rest of the field, I saw my mother, Kate Mercer standing in the crowd. It surprised me. I almost forgot my dance and hell even the cheer. What the hell was she here for? I looked over at Carly who seemed so into the cheer that she didn’t even see Kate in the stands. I shook it off. I had no time to think about my mother, after all, she didn’t all that time she was gone. I continued on with my cheer. The cheer was pretty much over when I spotted someone else. He had dark hair and dark brown eyes. He was a little taller than me, with big arms and shoulders. He wore black pants and white T-shirt with flowers in his hands. My mind flashed back.
~KAHLAN~ I slowly opened my eyes to a dim bedroom. The curtains were closed and quite frankly, I wanted to shut my eyes and fall back into my slumber. For a moment, I did, but then eventually flung them back open. Emett and Terry Castle were under my roof! It brought excitement to my chest and chills all over my body. I jumped up, and rushed down the stairs. When I entered the living room, I saw such a mess. I had gone to bed earlier than them because I still had school the next morning. Looking around, it seemed that they had made a fort of some sort. Sheets, blankets and pillows from the spare room crowded the floor. The guys were in the kitchen. Emett was shirtless, a small metal spoon in his mouth, holding a large bowl against his chest. Terry was laughing about something as he stared into the fridge. “Morning guys,” I chirped, eyes on the brothers. “What are you guys doing?” It was nice to hear their voices, the voices I grew up with. Emett was my best friend and naturally I h
~KAHLAN~Lucky me, I made it to my first period class just in time; feeling happier than ever. It was like I had just started feeling like my old self again. I missed my old life. Having Emett and Terry with me felt as if I was regaining who I was. It was funny because now I knew what was going to happen throughout the day, or maybe all at once; the flooding of the questions. Who was that at the footballgame? How do you know him? I was prepared and I was going to answer each question honestly. I had nothing to hide from them, not when it came to Emett and Terry. I couldn’t be ashamed of them; they were a part of my real life. They were a part of who I was before everything went bad. My first three periods went by so fast and the next thing I knew, lunch was rolling around and the cafeteria filled up quickly. I was the last one to sit at the crowded lunch table. I didn’t want to say a word if I didn’t have to, so instead, I sat there listening to others conversations going. Brandon,
~CHAD AND MYA~Chad pulled into a parking spot at the beach and turned the car off. He had told his friends that he would be late because he had to pick up his date. They all assumed it was Mya. Chad had raced over to her house, ready to pull out all the stops if she refused to come. When he knocked on her front door, she still showed annoyance on her face and questioned why he wouldn’t leave heralone. Chad actually had an answer for her, but he wasn’t going to tell her until she took a chance on him, trusted him, and left with him. She had looked as if she was still going to deny his invitation out, but she didn’t.Now here they were, staring down at the beach, seeing their friends lost in the fun. Chad looked over at Mya, who had her hair up in a messy bun and sunglasses hiding her eyes. She appeared to b
~THE CASTLES~Emett woke up and expected to hear the sizzling of bacon, or even the smell, but he heard nothing. He looked over at the clock seeing that it was 7:43am. By this time he would hear Kahlan slaving away in the kitchen, preparing a large unnecessary breakfast. The thought was nice, and he wasn’t complaining about the food. Kahlan was a great cook almost as if she had been doing it all her life. He got up and went downstairs to see Terry in the kitchen, making a sandwich. The man was half dressed which told him Kahlan Mercer wasn’t home.“Where’s Kahlan?” Emett asked. Usually the brunette would be tossing whatever she could into her mouth, as she rushed out the door to school.“I don’t know,” Terry replied. “I mean, I heard her leave last night, and she never cam
~KAHLAN AND DAMON~I stood outside Damon’s Meir’s apartment door. I licked my lips, tossed a lock of hair over my shoulder and put a smile on my face as I knocked on the door. It was quiet. I knocked once again. Then I heard the clicking of the door locks and the door was opened. Not as wide as I expected, but just enough for Damon to poke his head out. I stared at him, still smiling.“What are you doing here?” Damon asked. It wasn’t a question that I was expecting for him to ask. My smile was gone.“I told you I would come by after school,” I responded. He furrowed his brows. Don’t tell me he forgot.“Did I?”“What’s going on Damon? Are you busy or som
~THE GROUP~“So is this party just for us or for the whole school?” Mya asked, sitting beside Chad. She wasn’t big on parties but the new guy in her life and all of his friends were; she wanted to fit in. Her question was directed to Kahlan. She was the one offering up her house for a night of partying.“I really don’t care,” I answered, “As long as my house doesn’t get destroyed.” For a short time there, I hated having so many people in my house, participating in things that teens would do, knowing it was illegal. It was a night of consumption. Whatever you consume could change how you act when you are surrounded by a group of people. No matter if it were alcohol, drugs, sex, for one night, it could change you. You could be that person that makes bad decisions, bringing the crowd down, causing drama where there usually isn&rsquo
~THE CASTLES~Emett looked at the prices for the food platters, comparing the different prices and food offered. He stared. Terry came up beside him, with all of the paper and plastic items in his hands, carefully tossing them into the silver cart. They both stared down at the food, when Terry decided it was time to state the obvious.“Kahlan was trying to get rid of us, wasn’t she?”“Oh yea,” Emett said with a crazy nod, eyes still on the items he had before him.“I thought so.” The guys smiled. Kahlan had changed in many ways, but every so often they would see a glimpse of the old her and it would warm their hearts. The girl they knew was still there.~THE HANCOCKS~
~EMETT AND ASHLEY~Emett and Ashley found themselves enjoying each other’s company off to the side of the pool, comfortable in a couple of beach chairs that they found. They both sipped on beer, talking about Ashley’s love for dance. It was good conversation, but there was something that Emett wanted to clarify with theblonde. After all, he was on a mission.“So why do I get the feeling you don’t like Kahlan?” he questioned. Ashley stared at him, wondering what gave it away. It wasn’t hard though. She and Kahlan barely spoke. She wasn’t sure if she should be honest with Emett, considering the relationship he seemed to have with Kahlan. She propped her legs up on the beach chair, crossing them at the ankles as she lay back. She blinked.