Chapter One

It was her first day at Sweet Amoris High School. She was more than happy to get out of her old town, but everything that bothered her still hung over her like drapes. But who knows? Maybe she would find herself at peace here.

She rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans and a sweater, before brushing her hair. She slipped her feet into a pair of black slip-ons and descended the stairs, leaving the house without bothering to have breakfast. She walked slowly, clenching the strap to the bag over her shoulder tightly. What would it be like here? Would the other students here be kind or cruel? She sighed. She couldn't take anymore of the cruelty. As she finally reached the school, her gaze glued to her feet. She took a deep breath and pushed the doors open, lifting her gaze. Of course, it was like any other school; students loitering with their friends or shuffling to their first classes, doors opening and closing, the sound of mumbling and locker doors closing.

"Maya Ward?"

The voice was smooth and thick like honey filling her ears but the voice suddenly appearing behind her startled her. She took a deep breath before turning. She found herself gazing into a pair of warm, inviting golden brown orbs. They were enclosed by the most perfect looking, yet a bit pale, skin. Gleaming blonde hair hung over his eyes as he delicately lifted a perfect hand to brush his perfect hair out of his perfect face. She didn't care who he was, or how he knew her name. All she knew was that she wanted him.

"Yes?" she stammered.

A gentle smile stretched across his face. "I knew I didn't recognize you," he said, "I'm Nathaniel, student council president. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," she said, "But can I just call you Nathan?"

He nodded kindly. "I don't mind," he said, "But I noticed that you haven't turned in your enrollment form yet when the principle noted it to me."

"I haven't?" she said, "I thought I turned in all my forms."

"It wasn't found," he said, "I'll keep looking for it, but you should too. It's an important form for your registration. Also, you'll need a photo I.D."

Maya nodded. "I'll take a look around," she said.

She felt so lost, gazing at such a perfect man. He seemed so well put together as well. Gazing into the shining orbs that were his eyes, she couldn't see anything else. Her knees felt weak. Her breath was shaky.

"Maya!"

The voice that startled her out of her fantasy sounded familiar. She sighed, forcing her gaze away from the perfect man to find who was calling her name so obnoxiously. She froze. Him? Why was he here?

"Ken?" she said, astonished and a bit angry, "What are you doing here?"

His large round glasses fogged up as he gazed at her and he sheepishly grinned. "I came for you, Maya," he said happily, "So I could be close to you!"

Maya glanced back. Nathan had gone off somewhere; he was nowhere in sight. She smiled, turning back to Ken. He blushed at the sight of her smile.

"Get lost," she said sternly, "I wasn't interested in you before and I'm surely not interested in you now." His smile faded and he stood there awkwardly, letting her words set in. It wasn't the first time she'd said something like this to him and she wasn't a generally resentful person, but Ken took his little crush on her a bit too far. At first she was flattered but now he seemed more like a stalker.

"Aw, hey look," a voice said from a little behind Ken, "There are Ken and his girlfriend. How cute."

"Girlfriend?" she said, "I'm not his girlfriend."

"Oh?" the voice said and a girl stepped into view from behind Ken, "It sure seems like it, the way he talks about you."

Maya gazed at Ken, whose face flushed and he looked away quickly.

The girl smiled. "You must be the new girl," she said, pushing Ken out of the way, "I saw you talking to Nathaniel."

Maya felt a bit suspicious about this girl. "Yeah," she said, "What about it?"

Her smile faded and her true colors were revealed by the look on her face. "I suggest you stay away from him," she said.

"Stay away from him?" Maya repeated, "Why? Do you like him or something?"

The girl burst out laughing. "I would never," she said, "Just stay away from him."

She rolled her eyes, turning half away. "I'll do what I want," she said, "I'll date who I want, too."

"We'll see about that," the girl said.

Maya ignored her, walking out of the building. There were students outside, so she knew it was okay. She just wanted to take a breather. She walked quickly around campus, her head down. She paid no attention to where she was walking. She felt as if this school would end up just like her old school.

"Watch where you're going," a masculine voice said when she accidentally ran into someone. Maya lifted her gaze. There was a pair of blue-ish colored eyes. Unnaturally red hair enclosed his face.

She grimaced. "You were the one just standing there," she said, "You could've moved."

There was a pause and to her surprise, he smiled. "Who are you?" he said.

"Maya," she said, avoiding his gaze, "Who are you?"

"Castiel," he said.

"Well, then," she said, "This was… quite the awkward introduction. I guess I'll just be going then."

Maya went through her first few classes at ease. She didn't seem to have any classes with the girl from earlier, whose name she learned was Amber, or Ken. But the negative side was that she didn't have any classes with Nathan. She didn't have any with Castiel either, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. He was an interesting character but she wasn't sure if they would get along or not. It was about halfway through the day; the class before lunch. She had study hall this period, but she had asked the study hall monitor for a hall pass so that she could explore the school for a while. It was a big school but she got the hang of it easily.

Maya walked slowly, peeking into every doorway she caught sight of. She came across a room. There were mirrors along the wall. A stereo was on the floor and on the table across the room was an iPod speaker. The wooden floors were gleaming with old wax. She knew what it was right away. Her heart pounded. This was a dance room. Was there a dance group here at this school?

Maya entered slowly, her feet hardly making a noise against the hard ground. She set her bag down against the wall, entering the locker room. She changed into her gym clothes and returned to her bag, digging through it until sighting her iPod and plugging it into the speaker. She stood up straight as the music began to play before letting it sweep her away. It engulfed her until she was blind to everything else. All her surroundings disappeared; it was just her and her music. Only when the song stopped did she realize that she was still in school. She spun around to put on another dancing song when her gaze found a figure in the doorway. She blinked and realized it was Nathan. Her cheeks turned bright red and she bit her lip.

"I didn't know you were there," she said, feeling panicked.

He smiled, leaning against the door frame, "Don't mind me," he said gently, "Continue."

Maya gazed at the floor. "How embarrassing," she muttered.

"No," he said, "You're an amazing dancer. Don't be embarrassed."

She felt flustered. "Thank you," she said, "Nobody else has actually seen me dance before." A thought came into mind and she perked up. "Is there a dance club or something? I mean a reason why this room is here."

He suddenly began avoiding her gaze, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah," he said, "But… uh… I heard about your encounter with Amber today."

She scratched her head. "I guess gossip travels fast here," she said, "But yeah, she just kind of came up to me with her friends and started picking on me. I don't think it's a big deal, though."

"That's good," he said, "Don't mind her."

"Do you know her?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, "She's my sister."

Maya's jaw fell. "Your sister?" she gasped, "That's crazy, you two are so different."

He shrugged. "I guess," he said, "But at home we're just like any other pair of siblings."

"Oh I see," she said, "But anyways, why did you bring her up so suddenly?"

"Well," he said, a sheepish look on his face, "She kind of… runs the dance group. She's the captain."

She gazed at him for a few long moments. "Oh," she said, "I see."

"That's right, little girl. This room is also strictly for the dance group."

Maya spun around at the sound of Amber's voice. There she stood, her hands on her hips. She had a devilish smile on her face.

"So get out," she said, shooing her.

Maya stood her ground. "Well why can't I be in here when the dance group isn't?" she said.

"I have an idea," Amber said, "Why don't we dance for it? Today after school; meet me there."

"Sounds reasonable enough," Maya said.

Amber grinned, turning around and leaving. Maya turned towards Nathan. He looked a bit anxious.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Maya," he said, "You don't know her like I do."

Maya shrugged. "I just want to dance," she said, entering the locker room.

It was after school. After changing back into her gym clothes, Maya arrived at the dance room. Amber stood by the other entrance, a remote in her hand and a smug look on her face. Maya gazed at her, her heart overcome with the passion to dance. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and turned to see Nathan. He still had the same anxious look on his face.

"You don't have to worry," she said to him, "Dance groups always do the simplest dances. Plus, free style is my favorite way to dance. She probably has a routine or something."

"You go first," Amber called across the room, turning on the music with her remote.

Maya stepped in slowly. The song was elegant and graceful; the kind of music that lifted her away by the first few steps. She began by jumping and spinning in the air, her arms up. She landed and slipped, her ankle twisting in and she fell to the floor. Searing pain shot up through her leg. She grasped her ankle, panting. Amber's laugh sounded, echoing across the room.

"Did I mention that it's waxing day?" she said, "All clubs on a hard wood floor were canceled today."

"Amber," Nathan's voice said, filling the room warmly, "You went too far." He approached Maya carefully so as not to slip. He knelt down beside her. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "I fell on my ankle. I think it's sprained." He touched her bright red ankle before gathering her in his arms, ignoring the fact that her face had gone a bright red.

"Let me take care of you today," he said, softly, "Think of it as an apology for my sister's behavior."

"My behavior?" Amber said, "I'm a person, not a dog, Nathaniel. I can apologize for myself."

"I know," he responded, carefully getting to his feet, "But I also know that you're never going to apologize."

She rolled her eyes. "Well she deserved it," she said.

He sighed. "I don't want to hear it," he said. He carried Maya out of the room, looking frustrated. Maya stayed quiet out of respect so that she didn't anger him even more than he already was.

"Do you need anything?" he asked as they approached the door, "From your locker or something."

She shook her head. "No," she said.

"Listen," he said, "I'm really sorry about Amber. I don't understand why she was acting like that."

Maya shrugged. "There's no reason to apologize," she said, smiling kindly, "I got picked on a lot at my old school so I'm used to this kind of thing."

"You were?" he asked, pushing the doors open carefully so that she didn't fall, "But you're such a nice girl."

"Maybe," she said, "But I don't know. I guess people just feel the urge to hate me before they meet me. I can understand why; I make too many mistakes, I'm too forgetful, I'm not pretty at all."

"Are you kidding me?" he said, "Everybody makes mistakes. Short-term memory can be dealt with. And you're gorgeous. Don't be so hard on yourself. Amber is just one person. Her friends only hate you because she does."

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "It just makes me sad when someone hates me enough to try to physically hurt me like that."

He shook his head. "I told you I'd take care of you today," he said, "Don't worry about a thing. Think positively."

Nathan's gate was slow and silent. She wasn't sure where they were going but she was glad not to be going home. She finally understood when they stood on a porch. The home was lovely but quiet. He opened the door.

"I'm home," he called. When there was no response, he shrugged. "I guess they went out." He set her in a sitting position on the couch, setting a pillow on the table and resting her foot on it. He slipped off her shoe, examining her foot. "It's sprained," he said, "It's already swollen."

"It hurts," she winced as he turned her ankle. He set it down before getting to his feet.

"I'll get you some ice," he said.

She nodded. As he left the room, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The hate, the bullying, the abuse; it was like a déjà vu. She'd experienced the same things last year. She hoped with all her heart that Amber would stop being a problem. He returned and delicately but firmly placed the ice pack on her ankle. She winced but then felt a little better as the cold of the ice eased the pain of her ankle a bit.

"Are you hungry?" he said, "When my mother comes home, I'll have her make an extra plate for you. I'm sure she won't be long. I just have some school work to do, though, but by the time I'm done I'm sure she'll be here."

"I don't want you to trouble yourself or your mother," she said, "I'm not hungry anyways. But I have a question."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Um," she said softly, "Why does Amber hate me?"

He took a deep breath. "You know," he said, "I'm not completely sure about that. That's something you'd have to ask her about."

Maya's gaze fell to the floor. "I guess I'll never know then," she sighed, "But anyways, thanks for having me."

He smiled. "It's no big deal," he said, "I want to make it up to you, since Amber is my sister."

She shrugged. "It's really weird that you guys are siblings," she said, "You two are like polar opposites. You're so sweet and she's so… immature."

He chuckled. "Thanks, I guess," he said, "Well anyways, I have some work to do for now. Feel free to rest up here. If you're going to leave though, just let me know, okay? I don't want you walking home with that ankle."

"Okay," she said, "Thanks again."

He nodded once and left the room. Maya sighed, gazing up at the ceiling. She lifted her hand against the bright light on the ceiling and its bright glow shined through her fingers. She let her hand fall on her forehead, losing herself in her thoughts. She didn't want to go home, but she didn't want to stay here to see Amber; on the other hand, she liked being around Nathaniel. She sighed again. Why did things have to be complicated? It was only her first day and she was already longing for a break.

Her hand fell to her side as she pulled herself to her one strong foot, delicately setting the weak one on the floor. She winced, shifting all of her weight to her stronger leg before limping out of the room. She reached the front door and limped out quickly, gazing around to make sure neither Nathaniel nor Amber were in sight. The stairs were only a few steps away. She limped towards them. Suddenly a tree branch swung down towards her, nailing her right in the face. She could feel blood dripping from her lip and her nose but not only that; she was falling, feeling as if she had no control over her limbs. Her arms and legs let her fall. She hit the porch floor with a thud and everything went black.