Hey, guys. This is the first of my fics that I have ever published. My friend, who has a few amazing stories on here that you should check out (allybz), convinced me that this would be a good idea. So, welcome to the world of Marlee.

Disclaimer: The only things I own are Marlee and Virginia. Everything else belongs to their respectful owners.

Marlee Decker would have thought moving to California meant blue skies and warm weather for days. Apparently that assumption only applied to Southern California because the sky was a muted gray over the north; it was accompanied by a breeze that was chilly enough for Marlee to don a light peacoat before she left the house. She completely ignored her car sitting in the driveway and chose to walk the streets of a town called Beacon Hills. Ugh, even the name sent a shudder up her spine. Where did such a name come from? There were no lighthouses or substantial monuments to signify a "beacon" of any sort. It was like the founders of the town had tried to combine a bunch of different words until something sounded decent. Marlee had tried her hardest to not be so bitter about the move but it still left a sour taste in her mouth. It didn't matter how many times her mother would gently remind her that it was a chance for a fresh start. Marlee knew they could never outrun the past, the hurt and the anger would eventually catch up to them- then again, those emotions had never left her bones in the first place. They had been a constant in her life for the past two years and she couldn't help but think it would probably be like this for the rest of her life.

Frustrated, Marlee shoved her earbuds into her ears and pressed "Shuffle" on her iPod. Making her way through Beacon Hills, she took note of the businesses and hot spots. There was a bowling alley, a video store that looked like a ghost town, a veterinary office, a- A vibration from her front pocket interrupted her mindless cataloging and Marlee fished her phone out, already knowing who it would probably be.

'Hey, honey. Ordered a pizza for dinner. Be home soon? '

Marlee gave a faint smile at her mother's text message. Despite all of the negative energy Marlee had been giving off lately, Virginia tried to remain as upbeat as possible. The two Decker women had no one but each other (excluding a handful of visits with relatives) for the past two years and it had made them closer than ever before. Her mom would do anything for her- well, almost anything. Marlee had not been pleased at all when the older woman had informed her daughter that they were moving to some random town in Northern California. Marlee hadn't verbalized her protests too much though. As soon as the words "fresh start" had left her mother's mouth, the teenager knew she couldn't mess this up. Virginia deserved a positive change in her life, after everything that had happened. The fact that this was supposed to be a fresh start for Marlee as well wasn't as important. She couldn't imagine letting herself enjoy this new opportunity. Sure, no one here would whisper about her in the hallways- at least for the reason everyone had been for the past couple of years at her old school- but that wasn't enough. She didn't think she'd ever be able to let someone get close enough to her to even think about enjoying herself. Friends had been rare commodity for Marlee for a while.

'On my way home now. Hope you didn't forget the extra cheese.'

Shoving her phone back in her back in her pocket, Marlee let the sweet sound of Daughtry start to lead her back home. She was so out of it, she didn't even realize she had started to cross the street until someone collided with her. Stumbling back a few feet, Marlee opened her mouth to ask the person just what they had thought they were doing- only to watch as the figure in front of her was knocked off of their feet by a car. The person- a guy- fell to the ground and skid a few feet before he stopped. The car had hit the brakes in front of Marlee and the passenger window rolled down to reveal a balding man, who was clearly freaking out.

"Did I kill him?!"

Ignoring the panicky question, Marlee started running over to the guy that hadn't moved a muscle yet. Kneeling down, she placed a hand on his shoulder to roll him over. He looked like he was around her age, sixteen and probably a junior or senior. He was Latino with a crooked jawline and tousled black hair. Warm brown eyes stared back at her, blinking as she blocked out his view of the sky to examine him closer. "Hey," she tried to keep her voice calm, despite being a bit distressed about the entire situation, "are you okay? Do you need me to call 911?"

Marlee's words seemed to make him bounce back quickly as he rolled away from her a bit in order to stand up.

"No, no, I'm totally fine."

She looked up at him, her jaw dropped slightly. "You were just hit by a car- holy shit, you pushed me out of the way and got hit by a fucking car. You are so not okay!"

The boy's lips formed a soft smile.

"You're welcome."

"Okay, you really need to-"

Without letting her finish, the guy turned and quickly started to sprint away from her.

"Hey, get back here!"

She stayed there on the ground for a moment, watching him leave, before she slowly stood up. A teenage boy had just been hit by a car because she was so distracted, she would have been a pile of broken bones on the asphalt. He should have had at least one broken bone but the kid had taken off like it was nothing.

Beacon Hills had just gone from boring to strange in less than a minute.