Chapter 1

Kate

I was standing in a crowded street, people bustling and rushing everywhere and I had no idea where I was going. No direction made any sense and nothing looked familiar. I started to panic as I spun around looking for a way to go only to find none. Then as though someone was touching me I felt a sudden tingling sensation that made me feel like someone was watching me. I couldn't find who it was in the large crowd I looked at blank stern faces as they hurried by facing straight on ignoring my presence. Then suddenly off in the distance I saw a shadow of a person standing still that the crowd went around. They were tall and slender but I could make out no features. I began to move towards them but still they remained shadowed from the rest. Closer I got to the them they raised an arm to waive to me in greeting and then there was a voice that touched my ears as though the very person stood next to me I looked around suddenly only to see people moving by. The voice whispered to me in a beautiful husky voice "I've been looking for you all my life"

Suddenly my ears were filled with an unearthly loud beeping and the crowded place fell away into darkness. I opened my eyes to find myself face down on my bed with my head right next to the alarm clock which was continuing to beep loudly. The morning sun had crept it's way into my room and touched every area making it bright and warm. I hit the alarm clock and sighed with my face in to the pillow. I wasn't much of a morning person especially when an alarm was dictating my wake up time. I groaned again and pushed myself up then looked towards the god forsaken alarm clock. 09:15 it read on its LED screen... 09:15...

"Oh crap" I yelled I had slept in! I had forgotten to turn the stupid thing back an hour for today as I had classes earlier today!

"Not again!" I groaned realising I was now going to be late for 5th time in only 2 weeks! I knew my lecturers would be dying to give me a lecture on tardiness and I really wasn't up for that!

I rushed about my small 1 bed apartment. It wasn't the best of places but it was mine and it suited me whilst I was at college. I had a part time job in a coffee shop to help pay towards the rent whilst I studied. My mum and dad were kind to me and also helped pay part of my rent but not all of it. I was trying to be as independent as I could. My little apartment was the way I liked it, I had spent time decorating it myself painting the walls and buying little bits and bobs I found in stores not expensive things just things I liked.

I rushed about throwing clothes on and tying my hair up into a messy sort of pony tail. There was no time today to spend preening myself and making myself presentable to the world this would have to do. It was the middle of summer and was hot outside so I put on a dress and little flat shoes grabbed my bag with my books and grabbed the homework I had completed the night before. I grabbed some of my make-up and thought maybe I would have time to put it on later and left my apartment.

The college was only a 10 minute walk from my apartment but today I would be speed walking there in hopes that I wasn't too late. The sun shone down on the pavement and made it glimmer white in its rays. There wasn't a cloud in the sky today and the warms touched my skin and it was so nice. I loved the heat. As I came on to campus there were people moving all around the first of classes must have finished so I knew I had missed that but I would be able to make it to my psychology class no problem. I looked down to rummage through my bag as I walked making sure I had remembered the right books for today when someone barged right into my shoulder. My bag came flying off of my shoulder and thudded on to the ground and everything came spraying out littering the side walk. The idiot who barged me continued to walk and people started to make a divide around me and continue walking.

"Great" I thought to myself as I bent down to start scooping up my items.

Just then someone crouched down next to me and began helping me pick my things up.

"are you ok?" a husky female voice said to me as her beautiful dark toned hands came into view and started to collect my things together for me.

"Yeah it's ok" I replied not looking up and continuing to collect my stuff from the floor. "The morning I'm having I'm surprised it wasn't worse" I said sarcastically.

The girl laughed in a song like way as we finally managed to get all my things back into my bag. She stood up first as I started to put my bag back on to my arm and made sure it was safely locked over this time. As I looked up towards the stranger who had helped me I only say the back of her head as she had twisted around away from me

"Jack ass" she said in the direction she was facing "Imagine not even stopping to help you"

The girl was taller than me only by a couple of inches but she was slender and muscular in a toned way. Her skin was like copper and smooth. She wore denim pants and a white vest top that sat on her very nicely and hugged her features. Her hair was just above her shoulders and it was jet black and shiny.

"It's ok seriously no harm done I was running late anyway won't make a difference now" I replied smiling optimistically.

She began to turn around to face me after deciding she couldn't the perpetrator "Yeah but sti-"

As she said these words she was turned around to face me and our eyes met.

What happened next was utterly out of this world. Our eyes locked on to one and other and her eyes were so beautiful. A deep dark brown that I felt anyone could get lost in for days. I stared in to them and I felt like something made me stand in place where I was. I couldn't move but stare at this girl in front of me. Her face was beautiful unlike anyone I had ever seen before her skin colour, her features were sharp and amazing. I look a sharp breath in then felt like the whole world around us had stopped there was dead silence no one moved. It was just me and this girl in this one moment right here living and breathing but I felt like we were one entity. No one else mattered in that moment but the two of us. My whole body felt tingly and the hairs stood up on my arm I had an overwhelming feeling to reach out to her to rap my arms around her. I felt like I had known this stranger my whole life and that in some way she made me feel more of myself than I already was like she was part of my existence. I just stared at her and she stared at me and everything was still it was as though I could see everything in her eyes that I wanted.

Then as suddenly as it had happened it stopped. The noise came back suddenly of people walking past us and movement of the air. And we were back in reality. I had no idea what had just happened and I stood there still staring with my mouth open slightly.

"still" she said finishing her sentence as if I had imagined the whole moment that had just happened but yet I could see she too was sensing something.

We stood a couple of seconds in silence when I suddenly managed to shut my mouth and speak to her. "Kate" I said softly

"huh?" she replied

"Kate, my names Kate" I said bringing my hand up as if to shake hers

"Oh... Oh right Kate" she replied as if in some sort of disbelief and she looked down towards my hard as though contemplating wither to touch it or not. Then she reached out and took my hand in hers. Her hand was soft and warm as it came in contact with mine it sent a sensation through my body like electricity and made me feel fuzzy and warm. She must felt it too as she gaped down at our hands clasped together in a shake then looked at me in the eye.

"Leah" she replied softly. She coughed slightly then repeated it in a huskier voice "My name's Leah" she smiled. Her teeth flashed brilliant white in the sun and her face lit up making her look even more beautiful than she had before.

I suddenly felt so confused by everything I had no idea what was going on. In the moment of clarity I had seen this most amazing beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life and had an overwhelming need to be with her. To just be in her company and never part. But now my head was trying to make sense of it all. How could I possibly meet someone like this and have these most overwhelming feelings for them. I mean this wasn't some sort of fairy tale with love at first sight this was real life. And yet here I was heart racing looking at her acting like an idiot trying to form words in my head and I didn't even know if she had experienced the same thing I had. As everything came crashing into my head I realised we were still stood holding hands.

I suddenly pulled my hand back and was unaware of how long I had been standing there then realised I was late for class and that the whole situation had messed with my head. I suddenly panicked as I was over thinking everything.

"Sorry Leah, it was very uh nice to uh meet you but I need to go I'm late for my class"

She stared back at me as though she was slightly hurt by this and then I felt this need to reach out to her to sooth her to tell her not to feel hurt. I refrained myself telling myself I was acting like a crazy woman.

"Leah honestly it was really nice to meet you thank you for helping me I need to go I'm sorry" I turned and began to walk away from her in a quickened pace I felt like every step I was tied to this girl and it was pulling me back towards her but I had to keep going in to the crowd.

I heard her voice in the distance behind me "But..." then nothing...