Hey guys, so here's a new story. I get that I have two going already but I came up with this idea and I absolutely had to share it. This first chapter is very vague, but some of you might already get a bit of an idea of what's going on (try not to spoil it ;) ). I'm so excited to finally finish my VCE exams so updating my stories will become a frequent thing, don't worry!

Hopefully you guys enjoy, I'm really excited to see how this story goes and what you guys think about it!

"You should ask for his number already." Liz chimed, bringing me back to reality. "Ever since he showed up here you haven't been able to take your eyes off him."

He was standing in line waiting to order his coffee. His dark hair hung in his eyes and he stood with such intimidating confidence that it would make anybody shrink away, even an authority figure. Standing at least 6"8 tall, the barista behind the bar had to crane his neck back in order to get a look at his face when it was his time to order. The man was really a sight and a half and I wasn't sure why. He was just intriguing.

I traced my finger over the plastic lid of the takeaway coffee cup. "That would be far too awkward. I've never talked to the guy, and besides, I'm still not over-"

Liz cut me off by throwing her hands up in the air. "It's been three years, Chloe!" She exclaimed. "You said last month that you were over Joel."

I peered around to check for the authorities. With none of them in sight, I turned back to Liz and lowered my voice. "I've been contacti-" I was cut off by my best friend shushing me and shoving a piece of toast into my mouth. Just as she did this, two men in bright yellow uniform stormed in, most likely on their quest for their morning coffee. One of them stopped to exchange a few words with another customer who was also ordering their coffee and they shared a laugh. Most of the mediators in our town were friendly – always stopping for a chat if they knew you well enough – but that didn't mean you didn't have reason to watch your back. They were strict and often took their job very seriously. I silently thanked Liz for shutting me up when she did because I could have been in huge trouble. We weren't allowed to talk to people from home, and the consequences if the mediators found out could be dire. Once a month we were allowed supervised calls to our immediate family only – and even that came with a price that many of us couldn't afford to pay.

When the authorities left I expelled a breath that I didn't even know I was holding in. "That could have been bad." I mumbled as I bought my coffee up to my lips, drinking down the last sip.

"No kidding." Liz replied harshly. "I don't know what you're thinking talking to him."

I peered around the shop once again. "Now obviously isn't a good time to talk about it. Not with..." I paused. "…That kind around anyway. They'll hear us."

She shook her head. "I have to go and open up the shop. I'll see you around, Chloe." She said as she stood up and threw down money to cover her half of the breakfast. I bid her farewell as she walked out the door and slumped back in the booth where I consumed the last piece of waffle I had left over.

It was my day off and I had no idea what to do with myself. My house was clean, there was no laundry to do and all of my friends were working. All there was left to do was the grocery shopping and that would only take me an hour at the most. I sat in the booth for a while longer as I stared out the window. It was only eight o'clock in the morning so there was the whole day ahead of me.

It was depressing, really. Not knowing what I wanted to do with my life was the hardest thing I was made to go through. Ever since I was forced to come here I spent half my days on the couch eating ice cream. Being dragged away from my family, my friends and my boyfriend had caused me to turn into a downwards spiral that lead me up until this moment. I had recently got a receptionist job at the local doctor's office but it wasn't enough to distract me from everything I had lost. I was plagued with nightmares of losing my family all over again and each time I woke up there was nobody there to comfort me and tell me that everything was okay.

I peeled myself out of the booth and ordered another takeaway coffee that I hoped would perk me up. After exiting the coffee shop I headed straight towards my car and drove to the nearest supermarket to get the weekly groceries. When I first came here the weekly shopping often constituted of ice cream, chocolate and any other junk food you could think of that would be considered 'comfort food'. All of those hours situated in front of the television watching Grease were never without half a tub of cookies and cream ice cream. After my first bout of depression I put on a significant amount of weight from all of the bad food I had been eating and lack of exercise. I rarely left the house and when I did, it was usually to stock up on more Ben and Jerry's. It was only a few months ago when I got my job that I started doing more to keep myself busy. Watching Grease and Dirty Dancing was no way to live my life.

Of course, I still wasn't happy. I had been dragged away from the people who I loved and it's left a permanent hole in my heart to know that I'd never see them again. There were those nights where all I needed was a hug from my mom and to talk to her but it could never happen. Instead I had to settle for those strictly supervised phone calls that cost me what I earned over three hours and because of that, I only was ever able to talk to my parents once a month – if I was lucky.

And then there was Joel – my first serious, long term relationship. We had been together for nearly six years when the Edison group had struck and bought me here. I wasn't able to explain where I was going, or why. All I could tell him was that we had to break up and that I needed to leave my old life behind. Seeing the hurt in his eyes killed me. We were getting ready to get married and settle down, but all of that possibility was ripped out of my hands. I found a way to weave through the maximum security observation over our little town and managed to contact him, even though I knew I could possibly be killed or hurt for doing so. We spoke on a regular basis for months up until I almost got in trouble. One of the mediators caught me and let me off with a slap on the wrist and a warning to not do it again, which I was terribly lucky for. By our laws, Don, the mediator, was allowed to have me executed on the spot but fortunately for me, we were friends. After that scare I ceased contact with Joel with the exception of two times over the past three years. But the last time was it. No more. He had moved on and was happy; it was about time that I did so too, no matter how hard it was.

I thought about what my fridge was lacking and decided that it was time to go on yet another health kick. Each time I spiralled into another bout of depression I ended up binge eating any of the bad food that I could find. Afterwards I would always promise myself no more and that things were going to change, and this time it was happening. I was sick of feeling of hating and feeling sorry for myself. Deep down I knew that this was another one of those times but I didn't want to admit it.

I filled up my shopping cart with what I needed and left after paying. By the time I put everything in its place in my house it was only nine in the morning. I decided that the rest of my day was going to drag on if I didn't do something with myself so I packed my gym bag and fled out the door, hoping that a good workout would make the day go faster and occupy me better than another repeat of Monty Python's Holy Grail. I loved movies, I really did. Up until I was bought to Blackbridge I was studying filmography in a prestigious art college. My aspirations to be a director were cut short, unfortunately. The only opportunity I had now to connect with movies was to watch them for hours on end and critically analyse them.

Two sweaty hours later I was finishing up on the treadmill at the gym when I heard giggles and whispers come from the other side of the room. Two girls were conversing while adverting their gaze over to... I looked over… it was him.

He's everywhere! I thought to myself. This time he was just about to mount the elliptical when he hopped off and adjusted it. His long hair didn't cover his eyes like the last time I saw him in the coffee shop – it was shorter so he must have had it cut. Now that I could actually see his face, he was really quite beautiful. His jaw was strong and his nose was straight. And his eyes – oh wow. They were the most beautiful shade of green I had ever seen in a person's eyes. It wasn't just his face that was a sight and a half; his arms were muscly and strong, as were his legs. I couldn't help but gawk as the other girls were, and I knew if I stayed in that room there would be no exercising done so I soon hopped off the treadmill and regained my balance, knowing a better place I could go for a run.

Right behind my house was a trail that lead up to the mountains. I had never gone far enough to get to them before, but I knew they were there – they were hard to miss. The trail was long, and had many different routes that you could easily get lost in. When I walked out into my back yard I took the most familiar path and took off running. It was slightly cold out but the exercise kept me hot enough to keep going.

As I was running around a corner I smacked into a wall. A soft wall. One that wasn't supposed to be there. I stumbled back and landed on the cold hard ground with a grunt, scraping my hands in the process. Not getting a chance to look at what I bumped into, I stood up and glared face to face with a wall of flesh. I looked up… and up… and up some more, and it was him.

Two times in one day was a coincidence, but three times?

No. Freaking. Way.