A/N: I don't know how many times I have rewritten this chapter. Honestly, I had one idea for it, then ended up changing it, which I changed again. This story has had 3 titles before it was even published. I had originally planned one plot, but (again) changed it. I don't know I just wanted it to be perfect. Let's see how it goes...
I own nothing, except the plot.
At night, when the stars light up my room
I sit by myself
Talking To The Moon
"You're insane." She called out, her back still to him and he followed her. He didn't care where he was going or what he was doing. All he knew is, his world was right in front of him and she was about to disappear from his life.
"How? What makes me so insane that you don't want to be with me?"
Her head hung low as her pace slowed, which eventually came to a stop. Her breath was short, and her eyes refused to meet his. Her chocolate eyes continued to stare off onto the distance before them.
"It's not that I-" She started, the soft words eased their way out of her mouth. "You don't understand." Which was true.
"Then, make me. Make me understand. Help me to understand." He insisted, only earning a shake of the head.
Biting her lip, tears strolled down her cheeks. It pained him to see her so conflicted. It killed him knowing that he couldn't do anything about it. But he was trying. He was trying so goddamn hard.
"Why? What makes me so special? I'm just a random girl you met a month ago. You don't even know me." She coldly responded, doubt evident in her voice. "What makes you think you could possibly comprehend everything-everything- that I go through everyday? How could you possibly know what it's like not remembering the simpliest things in your life, like your own damn name? You don't. You can't."
He reached for her hand and held it so tight as if his own life depended on it. As if when he would go, she would be gone. There was no way he would let that happen. Not a chance. "I can try. And I will try. I will try to understand. I will try to be the person you need. I will try to keep up with everything you throw at me. For the rest of my life, I promise to give you so much more than I could ever give another human being."
"Why-"
"Why? Because. You're worth everything and more. I promise." Finally, her eyes collided with his. All he saw was a broken and confused girl that needed a shoulder to lean on. And he wanted to be that shoulder. Hell, he would be an arm, head, or toe for this girl. Why?
He had no clue. It was just...a strong feeling in his gut, guess you could say.
She looked at him sadly. "You're telling me, you're making a promise to a girl, whom you barely know I might add, telling her that you'd give her your all when you know that things could come tumbling down in a matter of seconds? Is that what you're using as a reason to convince me?"
He nodded, the truth rang from his lips. "Some people are okay with leading normal lives. But some people wait lifetimes for something incredible to happen. I'm one of them. And this...this is that incredible something. You are worth waiting lifetimes."
"How am I worth a lifetime?" She sighed. He thought for a moment.
"Everyone is worth a lifetime. Someone else just needs to notice it."
And boy, did he notice.
Waking up in the middle of the night became a normal thing for her. The light from the cresant moon illuminated the room as she laid in a bed, eying the ceiling. The white wall stared back at her. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was. Oh, yeah. That's right. Her room. Sometimes, it would slip her mind. Lesser and lesser by the day as she recognizes it more than once. The unfortunate result that consumed her daily life.
She had been having the same dream over and over again. For months. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but usually one has a dream that sticks out to them the most. This was hers. Yet, she didn't know why.
She had never met the guy in this dream. She had no clue who he was, how they had met, why they met, and what he had wanted to do with her. Well, more or less the last part. What did the dream mean? Was it even her in the dream?
Swinging her feet from under the covers and onto the side of the bed, she sat up and turn on her bedside lamp. A brown-leather bound book placed on the table, with a largely printed 'A'. Ally. That was her name. Reaching over and picking it up, the pages flipped from one to the next. Her eyes scanned the words neatly written on each page.
Slowly, memories had flooded back into her mind, but none were about her mysterious stranger that haunted her sleep. Not a single mention. Strange.
She stood and made her way to her window, where she scanned the bare, deserted road outside of...wherever she was. She assumed it was her home. Her eyes gazed back to the pale lavender walls in the room; pictures of a little girl eventually evolving into a young woman filled them. It was her, though she could not recall hardly any of it and it saddened her very much.
Sighing, her eyes met the shining rock up above in the sky. She knows that you're supposed to make wishes on shooting stars, not the moon, but she decided to take that chance. She felt her eyelids close, and her breathing slowed. Her mind filled with the one thing she wanted.
"Sweetie? What are you doing up?" A woman's voice echoed from behind her. She turned to see a shadow appearing from the doorway. "Honey, it's late. You should be resting."
"Mom?" That was a total guess on her part. She instantly felt bad. The woman came closer to her, a smile on her face. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, sweetie. You don't have nothing to be sorry about." The older woman tightly hugged her daughter. "I'm just glad that you're okay."
For the most part, she was. She was okay.
"Get some sleep, okay?" She lightly kissed her forehead.
The fifteen year old slowly closed her curtains and laid down on her bed. This time, when her eyelids felt heavy, she didn't open them again. She was out like a light, thinking about her mysterious dream.
Three Years Later...
He stepped out of his car after flipping the the engine off. This place was different from California. Entirely different.
He kept his sunglasses on and slung his bag on his back. His blonde hair hidden behind a gray beanie. The house in front of him was familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time. A little girl at about the age of six came running out of the house, squealing.
"He's here!" She dashed to him. He dropped his bag on the ground and crouched down to the ground, ready to lift her in his arms.
"Hey there, kiddo!" He swung her around and she giggled. "You're so big! Ah! Get off me, you're going to crush me soon or later."
"Look at you. All grown up." A woman from the front porch laughed. He smiled slightly and took them off. "How are you sweetheart?"
"Hey, Aunt Emily." He hugged her and they both went inside. "Nice place you got here."
"Aren't you a man of small words now?" She handed him a glass of water. "It's quaint. Your uncle Wren will be home in about an hour. Why don't I show you to your room?" She smiled as he nodded. "Come on, Gracie."
They filed up the steps and his aunt opened the door to a simply decorated room on the second floor.
"It's not much. We figured that you would want to add a little bit of your own personal stuff. You know, make yourself at home."
He set his bag down on the bed. "No, this is great. Thank you. For all of this. Taking me in."
"We wouldn't have given it a second thought, darling." She shifted in the doorway. "Now, I think I'll leave you to unpack and get settled. I'll be downstairs, just holler if you need help with anything, okay?"
All he did was nod and she shut the door.
It had been hard. For him. For everyone. But a part of him know it would have happened sooner or later. Death...it was on its own clock and everyone knew it.
Unzipping his duffle, he unpacked his clothes and organized them into piles. He then found a picture. It was of him and his mom. It seemed too soon, but he didn't care. He set it right next to the bed, on the table.
He, then, slumped onto the bed, with his guitar in his hand. Strumming a few chords, a knock came from his door.
"Hey there, bud." His uncle Patrick's head popped through the door. "Did you make it out here alright? No trouble?"
"Hey, Uncle Pat. Yeah. It was decent." He placed the instrument back in the case.
"I see you're still playing that old thing." The older man pointed to the Fender acoustic guitar. "I remember you used to beg your momma to give you lessons."
The mention of his mother quieted them both. "Yeah. I ended up teaching myself."
"I know it's been tough lately, buddy."
"It happens." The blonde shrugged.
His uncle nodded. "So, why don't we come down and have some lunch?"
Downstairs, his aunt had gotten the table ready and the three of them took a seat and began to eat. "So, bud, how have you been? How's school?"
"I got by okay," The Californian nodded and took a bite of his burger. "Speaking of school, I start back on Monday right?"
"Yes. Marino High. It's a great school, you'll love it." Emily smiled. Him? Liking school?
Moments of silence passed them, and the blonde spoke up again. "I'd really like to pull my own weight around here. You know, get a job, do the laundry, cook, clean."
The two adults looked at each other. "Well, there is an opening at a music store down at the mall. Old man Dawson might need a hand."
A music store. That's perfect. "That's great. Would it be alright if I went down there after lunch?"
"Of course, dear. Do you want the directions?"
The blonde teenager wondered around the mall, casually scanning the stores. There were decent stores in the mall, including some he had been to back in California, and some that he had never seen before. He decided to roam around in the eastern section of the mall, encountering the music store he was looking for. His eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Music. The thing he loved most.
"Thank you for shopping at..." She looked around the store, hoping to spot the name or some sort of trigger. There. "Sonic Boom. Come again." The brunette handed the customer the store bag. A smile was plastered on her face. Needless to say, she had to fake it once or twice. She was bored out of her mind and she impatiently tapped her finger on the countertop.
Her memory comes and goes from time to time, but she has learned to live with it. The one thing she remembered the most: her brown leather bound book.
"Honey, why don't you take a little break? You've been working since this morning." Her mother hollered from the office upstairs. She looked up and nodded. Finally.
"Thanks, Mom!" She grabbed her bag and bolted out the door, but not before her father could catch her.
"Gator, where are you going?" Lester questioned his daughter. Upon hearing the childhood nickname she had gotten from her father, she reluctantly turned around.
"I was just...gonna meet Trish at the food court. Is that okay?" She asked, as sweetly as she can.
"Isn't it your shift though? I-"
"Oh, just let her have some fun for a few hours, Lester. She'll be alright. She has Trish with her." Penny laughed. She knew that her husband was overprotective of their daughter, but now more than ever.
"I guess it's okay..." The older man said slowly. The teenage girl leaped up and hugged her dad, with joy.
"Thanks, Daddy!" She kissed his cheek and took off for the food court. Lester shook his head.
"You worry too much sometimes, honey," His wife climbed down the stairs with a box of harmonicas.
"It's my job to worry about our daughter, Penny. After what happened-" He stopped short. "I just don't want her to suddenly have her...moment where she forgets where she is and doesn't have a clue who she is. She could get seriously hurt."
"Honey, you and I both know, that nothing will ever happen to her. It's a miracle that she's still with us. She doesn't even use her book anymore to write down what happens everyday to remember. She's completely fine. We need to be grateful, but we also need to let go. She won't always be ours."
"I know, Penny." He kissed his wife's temple and closed his eyes. "I just didn't realize that it would happen this fast."
"No one ever does." She replied to him, rubbing his back.
The 18 year old young girl dashed out of her family's business and headed off to the food court. She couldn't believe her parents bought the act. That their poor, helpless little girl just needed to have fun with her friends.
Sure. Part of it was true. But not all of it.
She wasn't poor or helpless, let alone little. And her memory does fail her every once in a while, but had learned to deal with it and since the accident, it had gotten a lot better. This was her life. No one else's. It was hers to control.
Such deep in thought that she hadn't been focusing on where she was going, or who she was going to run into. Which she did.
Her body bounced back and she stumbled to maintain her balance. A sturdy pair of arms caged her in from coming in contact with the concrete. A squeal escaped her lips as she clutched her savior's body, and a chuckle came from him. Her body vibrated from his voice.
"Sorry about that." He had pulled her up forward, making her stand straight. "Didn't notice you there. Seems like you didn't see me either, considering how deep in thought you were."
"It's fi-" Looking up, her whole being nearly exploded. No. No way. There's no way. Was her mind playing tricks on her? Because this seemed like a pretty cruel trick to her right now.
It was him.
"Um," He scratched the back of his neck. "You sure? You're not hurt or anything right?"
You look like an idiot right now. Say something.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. T-thanks." If he hadn't caught her, she would have fallen and banged her head. That would NOT have been good.
"You have to be careful from now on, Ally. Any sudden, hard impact on your head could cause major brain damage and trigger something worse." Her doctor had informed her. "And you could possibly suffer from permanent memory loss, instead of short-term."
"If you're sure. I mean," He chuckled a little bit again. Her heart nearly stopped. "I just got her a few hours ago, and don't really know my way around."
He must have noticed how she was staring at him, and gave her an uncertain grin, clearing his throat, he said, "Well, I better get going. I have to...apply for a job."
The brunette nodded and allowed him to pass. He said a quick goodbye and headed for the opposite end of the mall.
She stood there for at least five more minutes before her legs could properly function once more. She was never one to believe in fate or coincidences, whatever you'd like to call it. But this...this was beyond anything she could have ever dream of.
At night, when the stars light up my room
I sit by myself
Talking To The Moon
First chapters are always the hardest to accomplish. But this, I thought, was probably the hardest I have ever done. I changed plot ideas so many times that I always forgot.
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xoxo