Author's Note: Yo readers, new fanfic here and I'm only really writing this because I have not been able to sleep and I thought writing would make me fall asleep (couldn't have been more wrong!)

Okay, this is a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, but with OCs and I was inspired to write this for one reason: I read a short novel called Romeo & Julian on Amazon, but I quickly returned it as I realised how terribly written it was.

Long story cut VERY SHORT - 1950s America, Romeo is a white dude whose dad is a racist and a homophobic idiot, Julian is a black guy whose an dad was killed by a racist group and his mother thinks no one should trust white people, Romeo's school is the first to allow black people in their school (Julian among them), an attraction builds between them and Julian is bullied because he's black, Julian and Romeo start a secret relationship and declare their love after three chapters (way too quick and completely rushed), Romeo and Julian struggle to keep their relationship secret and they both cry A LOT (they're 18 years old! GROW UP!), Julian gets stabbed by a white boy, Julian and Romeo go to prom with too different girls and once they're alone they declare their love for each other and in the next breath completely random jealously and they have an argument about both having female dates, they plan to run away together, Romeo CHEATS on Julian with his on-off girlfriend, Julian escapes being raped by a group of white boys but is killed and set on fire... FINALLY on Graduation, Romeo gives a completely unmoving speech about how these people destroyed the love between him and Julian (completely forgetting he cheated on the guy he's meant to love) and shoots himself... Oh and this all happens in TEN WEEKS, which is even more stupid - a completely pointless story and I wouldn't recommend it.

Now I'm very open-minded when it comes to reading and I personally think if a story has a good plot and characters that are realistic, it doesn't matter if the main couple are straight, gay or lesbian - love is love.

Okay, rant over hahaha

Here's my new story and I hope you enjoy :)

Preface: July 2007

The air was cold as night descended on the city of London, the unusually quiet streets made no sound and looked more like a ghost town than the most lively city in Europe on a summer's night. The only source of life came from a nearby bookstore, it's windows ablaze with light as a kind faced brunette woman walked out of the shop, a small boy with short brown hair clutching her hand and beaming with excitement.

Mrs Cullen looked at Jamie, his face full of happiness as he held a book bag and beamed at his mother. Jamie was barely seven years old and his reading ability was fantastic, he flew through any book he read and would talk none stop about the characters or storylines that made no sense to her but she pretended to understand just for his benefit. That was why when the last J.K. Rowling novel was set to be released, Jamie had begged her to take him to get a copy and reluctantly she agreed, partly because she knew it would be impossible to buy him the book the following day.

"Thanks, Mum!" Jamie said happily as they walked to the underground train station and Mrs Cullen went to say it was no trouble again, but the sight of three hooded youths watching them made her wary and she took hold of her son's hand as they walked onto the platform.

To her relief, the platform was deserted apart from them and she sighed with relief, sitting on the bench and wrapped her son in her arms as they waited for the train.

"I want to be a writer," Jamie said quietly, avoiding his mother's eyes "but I'm obviously not any good…"

Mrs Cullen frowned at Jamie, knowing where this negativity was coming from. Her sixteen year old Trevor constantly teased Jamie for writing short novels and reading, but even at Jamie's age he had a talent with words and she knew this skill would only increase as he became older. Mrs Cullen hugged her son closer, smiling into his bright blue eyes that were so similar to his father's - a father who left three months after he was born and never got to know either of his sons, but she was a proud mother because she had raised her children on her own.

"You can do whatever you want, Jamie." Mrs Cullen told her son firmly and Jamie looked at her with doubtful eyes.

"Really?" Jamie asked hesitantly as she nodded, grinning at him.

"Definitely, I know you'll become an incredible writer" Mrs Cullen told her son truthfully and Jamie's mood lightened instantly.

A black youth walked down the stairs and past them, winking at Mrs Cullen with a sly smile and she glared back at the young man. She just wanted to get her child home safely, because the look on that teenager's face was starting to make her uneasy. As the train arrived on the station and mother and child got to their feet, a group of black boys swarmed out of the shadows and surrounded them.

Acting on intinct, Mrs Cullen pulled her son behind her back to stand protectively in front of him and threw her handbag to the nearest youth.

"Just take it!" she begged, but the boys made no move to leave and one pulled a gun from his pocket.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU BITCH!" He yelled, putting the gun dangerously close to her face as the other boys jeered.

"Fucking slag!" another yelled, his face full of hatred for a woman he didn't even know. The fear that Mrs Cullen's felt was clear, but hearing Jamie's silent tears gave her inner strength and she held her son's hand that felt so small and vulnerable in hers.

"Shh, Jamie… it's okay," she comforted Jamie, looking up as the boys suddenly boarded the train that had now come to a stop - all this had happened in a few seconds. Mrs Cullen's breathed a shaky sigh of relief as the doors closed, but that quickly turned to horror as the doors reopened and the youth aimed the gun at the woman.

"NO!" her scream was cut off as he fired the gun and she collapsed to the ground, a pool of blood oozing from her chest. Her lifeless eyes staring blankly as the terrified boy began screaming.

"MUM!" Jamie yelled tearfully, his eyes flooding with tears as he prayed that someone would come to help… no one did "MUM, MUM, MUM!"

The youths watched as the boy continued to scream, staring at his lifeless mother as the train left the station and disappeared into the night.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading and make sure you leave a review, it's always great to get feedback on my writing and hear what you guys think.

The next chapter will be ten years later, Jamie will be seventeen and that will be when the story really starts and Rashawn (AKA - Romeo) will make his first appearance.

Not sure when I'll post the next chapter, if this story gets good feedback I'll definitely do it sooner :)