Yes, another new story. I was having trouble with my other story when I accidentally started this one. The beginning's better, so I decided to give it a try. It's about how four friends unintentionally crash their ship and destroy a lighthouse on Castanet. They're forced to work on a farm to pay for the damage as they attend the high school there, but they come across some bumps on the way.

The character's are loosely based off of a few of my friends and me. Try to guess which one is me (P.S. I'm a girl).

Rated T for Teen because of some bad language later on.

Their day started as expected. The four of them- Hazel, Tyler, Brooke, and Kathrine- were sailing off to begin a new life, away from their pleasantly familiar America and into the unknown country of Japan. The travel time was estimated to be about three days and already a day had passed.

A flurry of emotions, from excitement to anxiety, bounced around in each of the passenger's minds. Who gets a chance to go to Japan when they're only seventeen? Almost no one and the four were looking at the adventure of a lifetime.

But how where they supposed to know that their "adventure" was going to take a wild turn before they even docked?

They weren't. That's what makes an adventure an adventure.

However, this was not just any group of people. These teenagers do practically everything together. Based on their attitudes, the four should have been at each other's throats a long time ago. Yet, there was no other team of people that these four trusted more than each other. Perhaps I should explain more about them.

Hazel is the eldest by seventy seconds. She has dirty blonde hair that reaches her waist, as well as, her name sake, hazel eyes. Hazel likes wearing short skirts and brightly colored blouses, but her personality makes her come off like a tomboy more than anything. The girl acts tough and will pick a fight with a guy just as easily as she would with a girl. She joined the wrestling team her freshman year, and the coach seriously considered her for the boy's team. Bottom line, Hazel is a stubborn chick. Pulling pranks and causing trouble are her favorite things to do.

Tyler is the next eldest and Hazel's fraternal twin. He has messy, platinum blond hair and light blue eyes. (There is actually an inside joke about Tyler being the prettier of the two "sisters".) He wears collared shirts with a matching tie, and Bermuda shorts. Tyler's personality, as well, is quite strange for a boy, for he seems to be more of a girl than a guy. He's not gay by any means, but Tyler does enjoy shopping, singing, and clothes designing. Yes, clothes designing; this boy is the bomb at drawing, and one of his preferred things to draw is clothes.

Next up is Brooke. Brooke has shoulder length red hair and iridescent green irises. Of the four, she is the sweetest, shyest, and biggest push over. It is easy to break her self-esteem and she doesn't get mad, just weepy. However, Brooke will stick with her friends against all odds. She dresses in long sleeve shirts and skirts with leggings, every piece of clothing the same color, but of a different shade. Despite her gawky appearance, Brooke is actually very athletic and loves to run, jump, and play soccer. If there's one thing she's confident about, it's her coordination on her feet.

Last, but not least, Kathrine as the very youngest. Kathrine has short, wavy brown hair cut just below the ears, and deep, chocolate brown eyes. She typically wears sweater vests and jeans like any other nerdy person. Kat even has a pair of square, black rimmed glasses. To coincide with her exterior look, Kathrine is very sophisticated and studious. She was raised to be a polite young lady and will almost always stick to her manners. Along with reading, Kathrine's hobby is writing. If you went through her suitcase, you'd find about a hundred journals with poems, stories, and essays alike, as well as her personal diary (don't touch).

I know that most people would agree that any group like this would surely be a time bomb once their differences drove them apart enough. Well, you kids are unaware of the fact that these four have been best friends since 7th grade! And now, they plan to finish their senior year in a small city in Japan.

Wait, wait; why are they ending their high school years in Japan without all their friends you might ask?

It's simple: Hazel and Tyler's parents are filthy rich- the kind of rich that doesn't throw their weight around, though it is hard to find- and they wanted the twins to learn how to live on their own by throwing them out into the wild. Japan was about as far as you could go, so they chose that place.

Then there was the process of planning the event. Luckily, the mother was an engineer and one of her clients in Japan set up the whole thing to repay a favor.

However, since it was their senior year, Hazel and Tyler's parent agreed to let them pick two friends to come along. Of course, their first and only choices were Kathrine and Brooke.

Once the two girls got permission from their parents and guardians, the team was off. A whole new world set in front of them, just a few more days away.

Unfortunately for them, something, or someone, decided to throw a wrench in the plan. And it started the night of the second day.

As you can imagine, like I said, nerves were running high and all four of the friends were ridden of sleep, so each of them were above deck. The sky was filled with stars and the moon was waxing. Since it was only the beginning of spring, a chilly wind blew.

Hazel, Brooke, Tyler, and Kathrine were discussing the things they planned on doing once they reached Japan.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but the first thing I am going to do is see the school," Kathrine explained. "Maybe even find a few libraries around the area."

Tyler laughed. "You and your books, Kat. What I'm going to do is set up my room, so that it looks as fabulous as moi! Though, it'll be hard to compare it to my beauty."

Tyler made a dramatic flare of his hand. Kathrine rolled her eyes, but still gave a small smile.

"I'm so nervous, but so excited at the same time!" Brooke squealed. "I'll probably go running around the neighborhood, so I can learn about the region. I hope the people are nice."

She was clenching Kathrine's arm. Her grip looked quite tight and painful, but Kathrine didn't say anything. Everyone knew that Brooke was nervous about more than one thing and they couldn't blame her, so each of them kept quiet.

Hazel produced a wild smile. "All of your plans are lame!" she practically shouted. "The first thing I'm gonna do is meet the future Mr. Hazel! Who knows how many cute Japanese guys there are there?"

This time, Kathrine did giggle.

Hazel leered at her. "What's so funny that the queen of nerds actually laughs?"

Kathrine stopped laughing and straightened, like she was going to school Hazel.

"Well, first off, your future husband isn't going to be called 'Mr. Hazel'. You'd take his name. Second, I don't think the boys wou- WHOA!"

Before Kathrine could finish her lecture, a deafening boom came from below deck. The ship swayed violently back and forth. Large waves crashed against the sides, soaking the group head to toe. Like it was hell on Earth (something most of them were thinking at that moment), fire appeared around the left side of the ship.

There was only one thing they had to say.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Hazel scampered to the end of the ship. Her face turned chalk white.

"The engines have blown! Based on the size and power of the explosion, I'd say there was some sort of blockage!"

The groans of the ship and roaring of waves made Hazel barely audible, but even if they heard her, no one would question how she knew that. You learn things when your mom's a mechanical engineer.

At this point, no one care about surviving Japan. They were more concerned about surviving this ship. Except, none of them knew what to do!

As always, Kathrine was the one who tried to remain calm.

"Okay! Everyone move to the right of the ship. We need to avoid the flames. Then, the captain will come up and tell us what to do."

Her voice was trembling. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who could sound fearless in this situation. In spite of her lip quivering, she put on her brave face.

"Come on guys! Go to the right!"

Kat grabbed Tyler and Brooke and just about threw them over to the side. Hazel quickly followed. The idea was logical. If the group waited for the captain, he would surely know how to fix the situation.

Unfortunately, things went wrong when the second blast occurred.

The whole ship swung sideways, sending the four teenagers flying over open waters. A flash of blue and the friends splashed hard into the unforgiving surf.

The waves had become as tall as skyscrapers and they tried to push each the four lower into the deep sea. But Tyler, Hazel, and Kathrine would have none of it.

Tyler's head was first to break the surface, followed by Hazel and Kathrine. Terrified, Tyler yelled for his sister since it was too dark to see anything anymore. The moon had been blocked out by all the smoke from the ship.

Hazel called back and hastily swam to the sound of his voice. Even though Hazel was the bravest of the bunch, every fiber in her body shook from fear as well as from being cold. The temperature outside was freezing as it was, but the water had dropped at least ten degrees compared to the air.

Kathrine remained where she was, searching for Brooke. Her words sounded cracked, as if she was close to tears. Kathrine never seemed this vulnerable.

Finally, Brooke's head popped out of the water. She was screaming and thrashing around, coughing as sea water filled her lungs. You would have thought she was being attacked from the way she was reacting.

Water. Water was Brooke's greatest fear. That's why she was in no way at ease on the boat. Only several feet of metal kept her from a watery grave. She was so scared of being near the liquid that she never learned swim as well. Now, Brooke was trapped in the middle of the ocean.

Kathrine, the best swimmer and Brooke's first friend, paddled frantically towards her. Luckily, Brooke's screams made it easy to find her.

However, even when Kathrine had at last reached her, Brooke continued to struggle. Her friend tried to calm her down by holding her securely and speaking to her, but stopped abruptly. Though no one could see, Kat cringed. Brooke must have kicked her or something. Despite this, Kathrine hugged her friend even tighter, perhaps to assure herself that she wasn't alone in this nightmare.

Tyler's eyes darted around the sea, desperately searching for help. He spotted an island just ahead of them. Seeing as the flaming death trap once known as their ship couldn't help them, Tyler decided the island was their best bet.

"Everyone," the boy instructed, "Swim away from the boat!"

Hazel looked at him like he was crazy. "Are you stupid?! Those are the only people who can help us!"

Suddenly, a third blast was heard from the boat. It groaned in defeat as the tip slowly raised forward.

"Well, the ship can't help us now. It's sinking!" Kathrine shouted.

To prove her statement, water rushed into the holes of the boat, making a thunderous roaring sound. The end began to disappear under the ocean. It was like a miniature titanic, only with the same amount of horror.

And as if they hadn't suffered enough, the biggest wave the four had every seen- and these kids are from California- was barreling towards them. Within a few terror filled moments, the wave crashed into them as they all screamed for help.

Tyler, Hazel, Kathrine, and Brooke were brought back under the water, currents twirling each of them, debris flying around, until the wave finally passed.

Kathrine opened her eyes, which stung from the amount of salt water they had just received. What she saw were Tyler, Hazel, and Brooke, floating quietly on the water, unconscious. The wreckage must have knocked them out. Fortunately, the ocean allowed things to become more buoyant, so as long as they stayed still, the three would be fine.

It appeared as if Kat was hit on the head too, as she felt tired and had to fight to remain awake. She was fighting a lost cause, though. Dark spots were hindering her vision.

The last thing Kathrine saw was a dark figure far across the ocean, next to the boat, drifting away on a life raft. The person turned its head towards her.

"Come back," Kathrine whispered weakly, reaching out her hand.

At that moment, she lost the battle she could fight no longer. Darkness surrounded Kathrine.

Splash! Splash!

"Is that… waves?" Hazel thought.

With difficulty, she raised her head and opened her eyes. Her eye sight was fuzzy, as if she was still seeing things from under water. Everything was a big smug to her.

What Hazel did see, though, was white sand all around her. There was a path of concrete leading up to what looked like a town of some sort. Next to her was a small cluster of… rocks?

No, rocks don't have fiery red hair.

"Brooke!" Hazel tried to say.

However, when she attempted to use her voice, no words came out. Instead, a quiet croaking noise came from her gullet. Hazel realized that her throat felt like she had been gargling sand for two weeks.

Even if she did want to get to Brooke, though, Hazel could hardly move and she still felt like passing out again. But that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

In her endeavor to get up, the stubborn girl noticed another lump on the sand, as well as a third to her left. The first wore a light blue sweater vest and had chestnut colored hair. Kathrine. The second had a purple shirt and blond hair that almost matched the beach. Tyler.

A wave (pun intended) of relief washed over her.

"They're all still alive. Thank god they didn't die from… from… why can't I remember what happened?!" Hazel questioned.

Her thoughts were cut short, however, by a masculine voice in front of her. Someone was calling for help.

Hazel managed to raise her head just a little more to see the figure. He- she was assuming it was a "he"- had a black shirt and dark red hair. Not like Brooke's red hair that was more of an orange, but real red hair.

Because of Hazel's still blurry eye sight, she couldn't make out anything else. The figure had rushed towards her and was now looming over her head.

The red head reached down and took Hazel's hand to pull her up, but pain shot through Hazel's head. She staggered onto her feet, but the sting and exhaustion from what this girl had experienced became too much.

Hazel passed out, just as Kathrine did, only she was staring at the mysterious boy who came to aid her. Hazel's vision returned to normal for just a second. She saw the handsome face of a buff young boy with spiky red hair. He had a concern expression, but put on a cheery smile when he noticed she was looking up at him.

Hazel started to wonder if the explosion was really such a bad thing.

I'm going to post the parings in a later chapter.

How did I do? Please leave a comment. Thanks!