Piper was running late. She threw the yellow, knee-length dress on and pulled on her shoes. She quickly brushed her long red hair and braided it over her right shoulder. The college student threw the green bookbag full of drawings on her shoulders.

"Piper? Are you almost ready?" Her dad knocked on her door.

"Yeah. I just have to get the canvases out of my closet," she said, going to pull out the paintings.

Tucking the four paintings under her arm, the redhead opened the door and walked down the stairs of her childhood home. Her parents sat on the couch in the living room, her four year old niece on her dad's lap. Her brother stood next to his wife, their two children, Chase and Celeste, next to them. Her sister, Kathleen, was leaning against the door, annoyed that they were waiting for the twenty one year old.

Piper smiled at the nineteen year old. "How are you enjoying college life?"

"Meh, it's okay," Celeste smiled back. She was only two years younger than her aunt, the result of the difference in age between her dad and Piper and the fact that he got his wife (then girlfriend) pregnant at sixteen.

"Finally, let's go," Kathleen opened the door and was outside before anyone could react.

"How are we traveling?" The redhead looked at her parents.

"Kathleen and Alana are going with us. You're going with Tristan, Casey, Chase, and Celeste," her mother said, rising from the couch.

Piper's parents walked out of the house to join their daughter while their other two children shared a look. Piper and Tristan may have been fourteen years apart, but the two got along much better than they did with their sister, who was three years older than the redhead.

Casey led her children out of the house. "I'm glad I don't have to ride with Kathleen," Piper said, giving her older brother a sideways hug. "How have you been?" They stepped out into the mid-April air and made their way to the van.

"Pretty good. It feels weird not having Celeste in the house, though," he sighed. He opened the back of the van and she placed the paintings inside before he brought the door down. Tristan climbed into the driver's seat and she joined her niece in the back, leaving Chase in the middle row of seats.

"How's life? Meet any cute boys?" She had barely sat down before the blonde asked.

"I told you, I'm not worrying about boys until after college," Piper said as her brother pulled out of the driveway.

"Good, you're smart," Tristan looked at her in the rearview mirror. The redhead rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness.

"Not that any boys want her. She's a prude," Chase turned in his seat and smiled at his aunt.

Piper playfully smacked the sixteen year old. "You should treat your elders with respect."

"You're five years older than me."

"I'm one generation up though," she said. The whole 'generation' thing was kind of thrown out the window when Celeste was born.

"Oh yeah, you're Aunt Piper," he rolled his eyes and smiled.

The twenty one year old shivered. "That makes me feel old."

Her niece and nephew laughed.

The five were quiet the rest of the trip. Chase and Celeste were on their phones the rest of the trip while the redhead looked out the window.

Tristan stopped the van and they all got out. They stood in front of the building used for town events. Tristan, Casey, and Piper looked up at it, remembering the many times they had been there. The teenagers just stared at them. The artist retrieved the paintings and they walked inside. The college student found her area of the fundraiser easily and began setting up.

She set the four paintings on the table and began pulling drawings out of her bookbag. She left the almost empty room and joined her parents and sister on the stage. Her brother and his family emerged from the room and came to stand next to Piper.

The man in his fifties smiled at the crowd. "Hello everyone! The recent storms have left many homes and businesses with flood damage. The Thompson family-," he gestured to his family. "-and the church are putting on this fundraiser for the families affected by the storms in our town."

Piper was standing behind the table. She had already sold one of the paintings and several drawings.

"Hey, beautiful," a voice beside her said.

"Hey, Toby," the redhead said, turning to the brunette.

The two had been best friends since they were three years old and had a bad habit of flirting with each other, though it usually disappeared around Piper's parents. They didn't like each other that way, they just liked to see everyone's reaction.

"How's my darling?" He smiled and put an arm around the girl's waist.

"Pretty good, how's it feel to be back here?" She twirled out of his reach and adjusted some drawings.

"I'm just happy to see your pretty face," Toby smiled. Piper kissed his cheek and smacked his arm.

"Now get out of here, you're distracting me."

He laughed and left, walking over to talk to Chase.

"Give me all your money!" The man stood in front of the frightened twenty one year old, holding a gun. She immediately regretted walking home.

"I don't have any," the girl lied, taking a step away from him. She wished she had taken Toby up on his offer to drive her home.

The man's covered face laughed at the redhead. "Yeah, right. I know who you are and where you just came from, you have to have money on you," he said, stepping closer.

He was right, she did have about forty dollars in her bookbag. "It's for the flood damage."

"Give me the money," he ordered, holding out his hand.

"No," she took another step away from him. Her blood ran cold when she saw him point the gun at her head.

"I'll give you one last chance, give me the money," his finger hovered over the trigger.

"No!" The college student took one more step back and closed her eyes.

"Fine," he said and the deafening sound of a gun going off filled her ears.

This is the first chapter of my new story! I plan on having longer (and better) chapters after this one, this was just an introductory chapter. I'm not giving up on 'The Demon's Daughter', I just have extreme writer's block.

Thank you for reading and please review!