Alright! Here is chapter one! Please, please, PLEASE let me know what u think! and no, this isnt a story about vampires! I know, I know, its under vampire, but that's only because it's an origional as well and there wasn't anything labeled "Girl gets sucked into another world and goes through some crazy crap" so...HOPE YOU LIKE IT!

CH. 1

A lot of girls would start a story about themselves with "Hi! My name is Julianna, but you can call me Jewls! My life is fun and full of hanging out with friends and shopping and all kinds of girly stuff!"

I'm not a lot of girls. No, I was just another 18 year old trying hard to get through my last year of highschool all on my own. Every day was the same routine. I got up, brushed my teeth and the tangle of black that is my too long hair, stared at my almond eyes reflected at me for a few minutes, walked to school, swallowed what little knowledge there is to be found there, and came back home.

That had been my life for two years. Ever since my mother died. She'd always been the one with the ideas, the little plans to brighten the day. After the plane crash, I used the money she left me in her will to give her the buriel she deserved. I even had enough to cover her coffin in tiger lillies, our favorite flower. I kept one and pressed it between the pages of the biggest book in the house, which happened to be the seventh Harry Potter book. I had an uncle somerwhere in Canada, but I refused to go to him and instead asked him to sign my emancipation forms. He did so immediately, obviously glad to be rid of me. Within three weeks, I was legally my own woman.

I didn't have any friends. Actually, that's not true. I had two, my mother and Jamie. Jamie didn't call, or text, or even say hi in the hallways, but he was a friend. My only living friend then. Do you want to know how? He let me talk to him during fifth period, Chemistry. He never replied aside from "uh-huh" and "mmn" at the right times, but I did't even need that much. Once a day, five days a week, I could relieve myself of all my pain and loneliness and just plain boredom. I told him how empty the house that she'd left to me felt and how much I hated not being tall enough to dust the top of the bookshelves. I told him about the leaky corner in the living room, how I still couldn't make myself go into her room, why I was always braiding and rebriading my hair (It's a nervous habit), and he listened to it all without judgement. I could never tell if he ever really heard what I was saying or what he was thinking of me if he did, but that didn't matter either. He kept me from insanity.

Now, Jamie was the most popular boy in the school. A black-haired, green-eyed, tennis star hotty that always has a small group of girls trailing behind him letting out sighs of longing. I was never one of those girls before my mother passed, which is one of very few things that didn't change when she did. Of course, you wouldn't believe it if you asked his self-proclaimed girlfriend Tammy. She'll tell anyone who'll listen that I'm constantly trying to muscle in on "her man" and am made of pure boyfriend-stealing evil. I don't even bother denying it anymore and have actually started waving and smiling at Jamie when she's within sight just to share an inner laugh at her furious expression. He even waved back once, which sent her into such histerics that she attacked me. Being the first real break from my one track life in months, I went a little over board, giving her a black eye and broken lip, but I refused to apologize. I didn't even get punished, as there was a teacher present who testified that I was defending myself. That was the first day that Jamie spoke to me.

"You really hurt her, you know." He commented, looking me in the eyes for the first time since he gave me a greeting nod as he sat down. I stopped halfway through my description of how hard it was to reach that one itchy spot in the middle of my back and stared at him with wide eyes. A moment later, mercifully, I regained my composure and answered honestly.

"She'd hurt me every day if she thought she could get away with it." It wasn't meant as a jibe towards her, but a statement of my assessment of her charactor. Jamie nodded, his eyes still trained on mine, then touched the long scratch she'd carved into my forehead with her nails.

"She did." He said, and it was my turn to nod and shrug.

"Doesn't hurt, and I was asking for it anyway." I replied and, without really being able to help it, continued, "She's so convinced I'm trying to steal your heart away. I got a little fed up with it and waved at you earlier just to piss her off. She just doesn't understand that I don't know how to steal a guy's heart and don't want to regardless. You're my freedom, that's all. You let me get rid of all those things that try to overwhelm me. I've never thanked you for that, have I? Thank you, Jamie. Whether you've heard a single thing I've said all this time or not doesn't matter. Thank you." I had to breathe then and forced my mouth to stop moving. I'd grown so used to speaking what was on my mind to him that I didn't know how not to anymore.

"You're welcome, Jewls." Was his simple reply before he flashed me a grin. This grin wasn't his trade mark watch-me-dazzle grin that he gave the audience at a tennis match or the calmy tolerant one he gave to the girls that followed him around. This was a grin devoid of pretences, of fakeness. It took my breath away. He knows my name. He was actually listening! For once, I didn't have anything to say, and I spent the rest of the period in silence. Perhaps I wasn't as empty as I thought I was. That night I sent a prayer to mom asking her advice and promising her I would work harder to be happy without her there.

Three months later, I was still far from fulfilling that promise, but I was making snail fast progress. My routine had become a little less routine. I read now, cooked instead of ordering out, even watched a little tv. It had been a full year since mom's death, and things were slowly, slowly, getting barible. Jamie still listened to me every day, but now he interjected every now and then to offer advice on this or that and even came over one afternoon and fixed the leak in the corner. Tammy almost attacked me again when she found out about that one, but Jamie himself stopped her. Right there in the hallway he explained to her that she was taking her obsession with him too far and that I was simply and only a friend. She pouted for three full days before she gave up and joined the group of followers. She still glared at me whenever the chance was given, though.

Back to the present.

The last year has been the most amazing, terrifying, hardest times of my life, and I look forward to what else might be in store. Now that you know the basics of my life, I'll start on the day it all happened.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

My alarm rang at me, cutting through my dreams. I blinked, raised a hand to rub away the sleepy goo in my eyes, and sat up wearily. I'd stayed up too late reading again. The still open book lay beside me on the pillow. I sighed and picked it up, placing my bookmark between the places before setting it on my night stand and lifting myself to my feet. Today was going to be one of those days. A knock at my door startled me from my brooding. No one had actually knocked on my door since Jamie had come to fix the ceiling months ago.

With a mixture of curiousity and wariness, I left my room and made the two turns necessary to get to the front door and looked through the peep-hole. It was Jamie, much to my relief and dissapointment.

"Yeah?" I asked as I opened the door for him. It was hard to be my usuall chatty self while standing in a door way during winter in nothing but pajamas.

"I brought you something." He answered, offering me the wal-mart bag in his hands that I had only just then noticed. I took it and pulled out its contents, set to give it back no matter what. I forgot all about that, though, when I saw what it was. A jacket. A really good one, too. Thick fake fur lined the insides, even the sleeves and hood, and the outside was a chaotic mixture of black, green, and purple. It was simply perfect.

"You said yesterday that you were too busy paying bills to get one yourself." Jamie offered by way of explanation. That was Jamie, so kind, so practical. I shook my head, at a loss for words, and beamed at him.

"I'll...I'll be right back, ok? You can come in and get comfortable if you like." I finally managed after several moments. He shrugged and walked inside, taking the seat by the tv. "You're going to spoil me, Jamie." I accused him as I returned to the living room a few minutes later wearing clean clothes and the new jacket.

"Good." He grunted, nodding in approval of my appearance. I shook my head at him and rolled my eyes. Jamie never said much, but what he did say was worth hearing, but you wouldn't catch me saying that to him.

Standing, Jamie glanced at his watch and said it was time we got to school. I agreed and gathered my things, ready to walk as usual, but Jamie would have none of that and grunted that he hadn't come here in his car just to drive past while I walked in the cold. I laughed at his indignat expression and allowed my only friend to shower me with just a bit more kindness.

That was my first mistake. Forgetting about her obsession.

I could sense something wasn't right the moment we arrived, and I spotted Tammy near the school entrance with a particularly murderous glare aimed my way. I sighed, glad that at least my morning had been wonderful, and braced myself for her relentless hate. I never understood why Jamie didn't tell her she wasn't his girlfriend like he told her to back off so many months ago, but that was his business. My bet was that he liked the relatively girl-free time he had thanks to her death threating all the girls with crushes on him. I hoped that one day one of those girls would grow some bravery and talk to him anyway, because that boy needed someone in his life other than me who treated him like a human being. He needed a real girlfriend bad, but no one had the guts. Once I'd even thought of asking him out myself, but immediately cast the thought away, laughing out loud at the idea. Jamie was my big, doting brother, plain and simple.

"You've gone to far, pig." Tammy hissed in my ear as I was swapping school books in my locker.

"And what, may I ask, have I done that has gone too far?" I asked through gritted teeth, turning to match her glare.

"As if you don't already know! Jamie is mine, and stealing rides from him to school is just pathetic!" She sneered, catching my jacket in her manicured claws. I narrowed my eyes, feeling my anger start to rise.

"Let. Go. Now." I spat at her, every nerve in my body humming with barely contained fury. I'd been trying to get enough extra money for a jacket for weeks. I was not letting her mess with this one. Something resembling fear flashed in her eyes, and her grip loosened. I took the opportunity to shove her away, grap the book I'd been searching for, and walk past her into class. If I hadn't left right that moment she would have been on the ground. I hate violence. The sight of blood freaks me out. I can barely stand arguing half the time, but that girl, Tammy Shell, pissed me off so much I didn't care! Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it, sinse she shared this class period with me. A note bounced off my forehead just as the first bell rang.

"You'll get yours." Was all it said. I crumpled it up and threw it back, pegging her in the back of the head.

That was my second mistake. Adding fuel to the fire.

The day went by in a blur after that. I didn't even get to talk to Jamie much during fifth period because we were watching a documentory on Isaac Newton. Before I knew what was happening, the bell was ringing for the end of eight period. I blinked and looked around myself slowly in confusion. Well, then... It took me longer than usual to get ready to go home another twenty minutes of arguing to convince Jamie to let me walk home. It was my only real exercise after all.

That was my third mistake. Not getting home in time to catch her at my house.

When I finally made it to my house, there was a small bag hanging from the front door's knob. I stared at it with the same mixture of feelings I'd had this morning before I knew it was Jamie at the door before opening it and peeking inside. From what I could tell, it was a simple necklace made of some sort of raw twine with a large purple stone hanging from it. Or was the stone pink? Green? The longer I stood there looking at it, the less sure of its color I became, until I couldn't take it anymore and reached my hand inside to pull it out for closer inspection.

That was my final mistake. Being idiot enough to touch the strange piece of jewelry hanging from my front door.

Darkness swallowed me before I could even pull my hand out of the bag, slamming into me like a brick wall and forcing me into unconciousness.

I knew nothing, felt nothing, was nothing.

What do you guys think? what what whaaaat? please PLEASE let me know your EXACT feelings! please? pleeeaaseee?