Chapter 1:

London, it's the best place in the world for me. I love this city.

Well, I could do without all the rain, but I just love this place. It seems so rich and famous and so old-timed, so historical, just a beautiful place, personally. And when it snows, watching all the snow start to blanket up on the sidewalks and the streets, people bustling about, it's a pretty sight, well, at least for me.

I loved all the sights here. Big Ben, the London Ferris Wheel – what a beautiful sight it is from there! – The London Bridge, oh all the sights here! It is just… awesome!

Just when I thought that London couldn't get any better, he showed up and it changed us – my friends, the kids at school, the people here, even me.

The first time I ever saw him was when I was hurrying home after school one chilly afternoon, and I decided to take the bus because I had to hurry to the grocery store and get some food for the family. I was wearing my beige Burberry trench coat that my grandmother had saved up to get me for my birthday this year – which I had been so excited about, for it was so stylish, so expensive, and so warm – dark denim blue jeans, black gloves, black fuzzy boots, and my charcoal-colored knitted beret that my mother made – she knits many different things and tries to sell them online – and I sewed on a couple of buttons on the side for style. I looked epic.

I got off the bus at the grocery store, got the few things I needed, and, still being a whiles away from home, set the bags next to me on the bench and sighed, seeing my breath float out of my mouth. I smiled. I loved winter.

I didn't even notice the guy that came to sit next to me on the bench to wait for the bus until we were getting on. I got lucky, for this bus actually had an empty seat. "Hey, can I sit here?" the guy asked, and I said he could.

He only looked about my age, a little taller than me. He wore a beanie hat, a black coat, and blue jeans. He flipped his brown hair out of his eyes and rubbed his hands to try to get warm. I smiled for a second, a laughing one. "Cold, are you?" I asked. He looked over at me, still rubbing his hands. He had brown eyes and he smiled back.

"Yeah, it's pretty cold out today, isn't it?" he asked.

"I hope it snows," I sighed. "I love the snow."

He nodded in agreement. "Why do you like the snow so much?"

I closed my blue eyes, imagining the scene as I described it. "I dunno, it's just so beautiful. Watching it from the window as it drifts down slowly, writing things on the fog on the windows, watching the kids playing in the snow, the couples holding hands and pulling close for warmth, people hustling down the street. It's all just seems so calm… and quiet… and peaceful. It's really just so beautiful."

I opened them and looked back at him, seeing that he was listening to every word I had said. I smiled nervously. "Heh, I rambled on a little bit there, didn't I?"

He shook his head. "That's a good reason to love the snow," he agreed. "That's some of the best moments of life."

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," I said. I pushed my ginger hair out of my blue eyes. "I'm Annie." I held out my hand for him to shake.

"Greyson," he introduced as well, and shook my hand. "I'm not gonna be here in London for long, though. I'm just on a vacation this week. Today, tomorrow, and the day after that are my only free days here, though. Sunday I go back home."

"Oh?" I said. "What do you do about school?"

"I'm homeschooled," he replied, biting his bottom lip. I could tell he was keeping some kind of secret.

"Hey, if you're free tomorrow, how about meeting me at Big Ben tomorrow?" I asked. "I can show you all the best places around here."

"You're a local?" he asked. I nodded. "You don't sound like you are."

"Oh, ha-ha, I don't know why I don't have an English accent, if that's what you're wondering," I laughed. "But, after thirteen years of living with these people, you can pick up a good fake accent, such as –." A tomato dropped on the floor from one of my grocery bags. "Oh, bloody hell, that blasted tomato just jumped out of my bag onto the floor!"

Greyson laughed. "That was a good one!" he laughed as I picked up the tomato. I felt a little self-conscious, but I decided to just laugh it off. It was the best solution.

"Ha-ha, if you lived with these people your whole life, you could do the same," I laughed. Just then, as the bus stopped, Greyson got off, and I realized that we had passed my stop, so I got off too. He looked a little confused, and I explained that I had missed my stop. "But, seriously though, if you're off just go to Big Ben tomorrow after school, and I can show you around," I added.

"When does school get out for you?" he asked just as I was about to run and leave.

"2:30, I'll be there at about 2:45. See you then!" I called behind me as I ran off back home. Yes, finally! I thought, smiling. I have a friend!

*author's note*

Sorry chapter 1 was so short, but whaddya think? This is the story for me, since I'm in the middle of typing A Heart like Stone for my friend. I wanna at least get one chapter/part of each story out a day. Hopefully this works! Wish me luck(; 1,000 words lol