1942

The soft sound of ambiance surrounded me. I could hear nothing but the sweet melody of birds singing, bees humming, and the constant squeak of the rusty chain bars supporting the swing. I had just moved to Jupiter, Florida, because my parents got a promotion. We lived in a middle class house just across the street from a colossal manor called the Mott Estate. I could see it from my new bedroom window, and how it was gorgeous. The steep pointed roof stooped tall against the horizon, into the pale blue stretch of sky. It looked like a castle. Like something from a fairy tale. Now at the park I can still see the tip of the house just brushing above the thicket of trees surrounding the park.

I looked up at the sky as a flock of geese flew over and when my eyes returned to ground level again I was greeted with the site of a well groomed little boy. He wore a crimson sweater vest over a nicely collared shirt with slacks and black dress shoes. He was far too over dressed to be a casual middle class child, so I figured he must have belonged to the Mott Estate household, given it was so close by.

"Hi," I said first. My voice came out high and soft, flowing nicely with the bows in my pigtails and ruffled play dress.

"Hello," the boy said louder than me. "I never saw you before."

"I just moved here," I replied.

"Oh. To the house just over there?" He pointed across the street at my house.

I nodded.

"That house is haunted," he said very casually.

"Liar. It's not haunted."

"Hmm. Maybe not," the boy suggested just as causally as before. "How old are you?"

"Ten."

"Me too."

Silence. We were quiet for what seemed like an hour and I wished it would end. It was growing more uncomfortable and awkward by the passing second so I finally spoke.

"My name is Dakota."

The little boy raised his eye brows as if he'd never heard the name before.

"Mine is Dandy."

I raised my eye brows in return, because I had never heard that name before.

"Nice to meet you," I lied. This kid made me feel kind of funny. I liked how he looked. He was cute. But I would never let anyone know that, for as long as I lived. At least I had a new... friend, I guess you'd call him.

"Come to my house," Dandy ordered rather than asked. "It's really big."

I wasn't about to take orders from him, and I certainly was not going to his house right now. I had just met him. But I didn't want him to get mad, so I made something up.

"I'm still unpacking boxes for my bedroom," this wasn't a lie at all actually.

"Tomorrow then. Bring your parents too, we can have breakfast together," he was pushy.

"Okay," I said, finally giving in. At least I can see what the inside of the giant castle looks like.

"I'll tell Mother that you're coming over tomorrow morning," Dandy said and turned on his heel to walk away.

"Bye," I called after him, but he didn't reply.

That night I told my parents, who were delighted to go, but I didn't really want to.

Just before bed I looked out my window, overlooking the great majesty. The stone was strikingly beautiful against the silver ghost breath of moonlight. The long pathway snaked through the fresh lawn, neighbored by rows of Bluebells and Violets. It was all enclosed by a gleaming silver fencing, with a giant pointed gate up front. It was a chilling sight, and in that instant I changed my mind. Now I longed to visit the mystical storybook-like manor. I would kill to live there. I would be just like a little princess, and every day I would water the beautiful flowers and dance in the giant lawn. Dandy had it all at his finger tips. Lucky boy, he seemed too bratty to deserve a palace like this. I climbed into my bed, now excited for tomorrow and drifted into a sweet slumber.

The next day I sprung out of bed, got ready, and we all headed over to the Mott Estate. On the way to the house I nagged my parents for why we couldn't have bought a house like that, but they just shook their heads and laughed at me like I was joking. I walked slow along the pathway, taking in the size of the yard and appreciating the flowers. When my parents rang the doorbell they told me to hurry and I hadn't realized how slow I had been walking to look at every thing.

The door opened and a darker skinned woman answered the door and smiled at us. "Mrs. Mott is in the dinning room."

We all filed into the mansion and an elegant lady hurried into the foyer. She had strawberry blonde hair and green eyes, just like me.

"You must be the family my Dandy has been talking about!" She said. "My name is Gloria Mott, I am very glad to have you for breakfast."

I looked glanced around the area for Dandy there was no sign of him.

"Thank you Mrs. Mott," my mother said. And then she went off and introduced herself and then my parents talked for a long time with Mrs. Mott until I finally had to ask where Dandy was.

"Oh dear, he's upstairs, I'll tell Dora to fetch him for breakfast," Mrs. Mott said to me.

After some time of waiting in the dining room, Dandy strolled in but stopped in the doorway.

"Oh there you are Dandy, darling," Mrs. Mott stood up and gave his shoulders a squeeze. "Mr. and Mrs. Shepard, this is my son."

"Hello," Dandy smiled. "Your daughter is awfully pretty."

Did he really just say that? He looked directly at me with his stupid smile but I hid my face so he wouldn't see me blush.

My parents laughed. Dandy certainly wasn't shy.

"Take a seat Dandy, please," Mrs. Mott wasn't too amused. He sat down directly across from me. I didn't like Dandy. He was cute, but I didn't like him. Not even as a friend. I didn't like brats, period. Dandy definitely fit in that category. I was open to giving him a try though. It wasn't like I could just go to school without any friends. I would die.

"I'm going to St. Kit's Elementary," I told Dandy, hoping he would say he went there as well. He looked at me for a moment before he spoke.

"That's a private school, right?"

My hope drained. Now I would have to go to school friendless. What if something happened? What if the other kids didn't like me? What if the girls there are mean? What if the boys there are mean? What if... no I was a tough girl. I could handle anything.

"Um, yeah. Where do you go?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm home schooled," Dandy replied.

"Oh."

"I wasn't behaving in class, and I was too much of a 'handful for the teachers,' my mother said," Dandy explained with air quotes and devilish smirk.

"You must of had done something awful," I said.

His eyes widened as well as his smile. "Oh I did," his tone was the most proud of I've ever heard within a three word sentence.

My curiosity soared. Just as I was about to ask him what it was he began speaking again.

"Mother hired lots of different teachers to home school me but they all quit because they couldn't handle me," Dandy said. "I bit most of them."

I let a few giggles escape my mouth. Bit them?

Dora arrived with a platter of various different fine breakfast choices. After we ate, without asking to be excused, Dandy climbed out of his chair and tugged on the ruffles of my fluffy pink dress.

"Come on, lets go upstairs and play," he said.

I looked at my parents for permission but they were lost in conversation with Mrs. Mott.

"Come onnn," I heard Dandy whine next to me and tug harder.

I finally obliged and climbed off my chair and followed him, giving into his desire.

Once I entered Dandy's room, it was like entering Toy Land. It was a huge room, bigger than mine, and my parents, and probably my whole first floor. My first thought was, that's a lot of toys. They were everywhere, he even had the really big toys that were extremely overpriced and triple the size of the child playing with it. He had a croquet set in the center of his room, believe it or not. It was all so surreal, like a fantasy or dream I was in.

"We can play with anything you want," Dandy said, noticing how in awe I was of his room.

"A-Alright..." I stuttered, slowly beginning to wander around the room, studying all of his toys.

For a while we played with puppets until he got bored and we played "house" with dolls he had never played with before I came over. I figured his mother must have bought him every toy she thought he would desire to have, even a doll house that was for girls, that lie untouched in a corner until today. After dolls we played croquet, and finally my parents came upstairs and told me we had to go, but I had found myself having so much unexpected fun with Dandy, him and just had to beg my parents to let me stay for longer and his mother insisted. She seemed very happy that her son had a playmate, and Dandy seemed happy too. The only thing I didn't understand was why the nanny, Ms. Evans, was keeping such a close eye on us. She obviously had a reason, because she stuck to us like glue. Maybe Dandy had done something to a previous playmate. I shuddered at the thought. I never trusted him to begin with, but these thoughts were no reason to trust him any less than I had before.

After the first day of school the following week, I had decided school was too boring and I had began to go to Dandy's house every day after I got home. He was more than delighted to have me over and eventually I found Dandy as a friend, then a close friend, and finally even a best friend. We were more than play mates, he was like family, and I began to feel comfort in going to his house after school.

1944

After I had been living across from the Mott Estate for two years, at twelve years old, I had a bad day. I came home from school in tears, because one of my friend's had stabbed me in the back and started a mean rumor that I liked the nerdiest kid in school and everyone laughed.

I cried all the way to Dandy's house and up to his room and even into his arms. It was such an odd feeling. Being wrapped in his arms. We were both going through a stage in life where boys begin to like girls better than frogs and girls begin to care about what guys think of them and how they look. As my head rested on his shoulder, I began to notice how good the scent of his cologne was. And his piercing eyes. Dandy was different than the rest of the boys, but I liked it. He was extremely well groomed but he seemed to act a lot younger than twelve.

I told him what happened, but when I did I immediately regretted it. In all the hurt I had been in I had forgotten how violent Dandy can get, like when his mother complained about the stray cat and so he killed it.

"I can kill them. I'll kill them all," Dandy said, his eyes stripped of expression. I hadn't seen him like this. It was kind of bothering me.

"No, it's okay, Dandy, I don't want them dead," I was half joking. He had me sit down with him on the miniature sofa he had in his room.

"Dakota," the sound of my name leaving his mouth was incredibly familiar. "They made you cry."

"But-"

"They hurt your feelings. If I don't do something..." he picked a strand of my long strawberry blonde hair and twirled it around his thumb, "they'll keep going."

I realized he was serious.

"Dandy, that's ridiculous."

"It's true."

"Killing someone is an awful crime," I objected. "They'll lock you up."

He raised his eye brows.

"And when you're locked up, you don't get luxury like this. They'll throw you in a cell just like anyone else. You'll be there with poor people," I continued, hoping I was convincing enough to get him away from this subject.

"Mother would bail me out in a heart beat."

"But there's a chance you still wouldn't be able to get out," I said quickly. "This conversation is over, Dandy, you're not killing anyone."

Dandy rolled his eyes, and huffed his breath, but when I suggested we could play a game he lightened up.

"What should we play?" He asked excitedly. He was clearly on board with any idea that had to do with fun and games.

"Anything you want," I allowed him to pick. Dandy always loved being in charge of things, especially play time.

"Truth or Dare!" he answered very quickly, as it were on the tip of his tongue and he had been waiting all day to cry out the answer.

"Okay." I said cautiously. Dandy tended to go overboard with Truth or Dare, but I had already disagreed with him enough tonight, and if I made him throw a fit, that would be the end of the night.

"Truth or Dare?" Dandy began excitedly. He seemed very eager and I feared for what he was thinking of.

"Dare..."

"I dare you to not dare me anything for the rest of the night," Dandy said.

"So I can only make you do truth?"

"Yeah."

"That's not fair. You can't do that," I said.

"Yes I can. I just did."

"No you can't."

He stomped his foot. "Yes I can!" He practically screamed. He was definitely going to throw a tantrum if I didn't feed into his desire again, so I sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

He seemed pretty smug with himself. "Now you ask me."

"Um, truth?"

He nodded for me to continue.

"Would you rather be poor and have your mother or be rich and not have her?" I thought this one was good and would take thought, but he answered immediately.

"Easy. I would be rich and not have her."

Damn he was shallow.

"Truth or Dare?" He asked me.

"Dare," I replied. Everyone knew truth was for sissies even though Dandy had just arranged it so he could only be truthed.

"I dare you to sit right here, in this chair, and let me tie you up, and you can't scream or try to leave until I say," he said without taking a breath in between as if he memorized it or was very excited about it.

Oh no. I had done this multiple with him before, when we were younger, he would have me tied up so he could spank me, and another time he ripped the hem of my dress all the way up my thigh, almost to my panties, or him touching my non existent, prepubescent breast over the fabric of my dress. He loved this game because it gave him so much dominance over me, which I hated. He loved the power and the role of being in charge, and the fact that me and him could do whatever. he. wanted.

After I climbed into the chair he tied me up really tightly this time. My heart was racing and my stomach was full of butterflies just trying to imagine what he was planning.

"Okay. Your turn," he says, and begins humming sweetly while waiting for me to think of a truth.

"Have you ever killed someone?" I asked, mostly joking but I wanted to set my worries to rest about killing the bullies he was talking about earlier.

He moved forward and lowered his face so he was eye level to me, just inches apart. His eyes studied me and he seemed to be in a trance as he looked at me. He gave me a look that resulted with butterflies in my stomach.

"You're very beautiful Dakota," he said, and his hand came up to meet the side of my face. His fingers met the burning flesh of my cheek and I shuddered beneath his touch. "Those bullies were probably jealous." He skimmed down the side of my face leaving a trail of goosebumps, before he turned away from me.

"Yes, I have killed someone."

My gasp was caught in my throat, for he had turned around and kissed me in one quick movement. My heart exploded into pieces as I thought so many different things at one time. Our lips were pressed together and I absolutely couldn't believe it, even though it was happening right before me. His kiss was sloppy, he'd never done it before, and his lips were clumsy against mine. I let the portion of my body that was free from the ropes fall against him during the five second long kiss and I leaned back when he finally pulled away. I longed for his retreating touch as it faded away.

He stood with a pleased look on his face. Not exactly excited about his first kiss, but rather pleased as if he got a good grade on his spelling test. He had revealed to me that he had killed someone just now but my mind was on the kiss. It wasn't too big of a surprise he was guilty of murder. Dandy had violent tendencies. But now when I stared at him, I thought nothing except for the feeling of his warm lips against mine. I knew that I would rememeber this moment forever and treasure it always. It was my first kiss. He was my first kiss. From this day on, every time I had a moment with Dandy that resulted in butterflies, his mouth on mine would come to mind. The immediate thought in the back of my head. I longed for the day this would happen again.

Ayy I hoped you liked chapter one! XDD Remember this story is going to follow Dakota through life up to like her mid twenties or something so be prepared for future chapters! :) See u real soon.