THIS IS NOT STOLEN FROM SOMEONE ELSE, I REPEAT: NOT STOLEN FROM SOMEONE ELSE! Think you've read this story before? You probably have, but then I took it down, made a new account, slapped a new title on it, and am completely rewriting it so it doesn't suck as much. I wrote the original story called Before the Storm when I was a sophomore in high school under keynote123 but now that I've taken numerous AP English classes and I'm about to major in English education (yeah, we'll see how long that lasts…) I realized I could make the story 100 billion times better. With college starting, I wanted a fresh start and a new Fanfiction account was part of that!
Now if you're new and didn't read the original version: hi! I'm Emily and usually HATE OC stories, but I work hard to make this OC have flaws and actually be someone you like, so no Mary Sue's. I'm super pumped to rewrite this and make it as good as I know it can be!
Very obviously, I don't own Big Time Rush, hence, the reason I'm on this website. Do we even still have to do this part? I though it was clear if you're writing fanfics. Meh, oh well. I don't own them, and if I did, the beautiful James Maslow would have his cute butt right next to me at this moment. Sad days.
It was the night of one, giant contradiction.
The big, Ohio sky twinkled with stars. Lightening bugs illuminated the night for brief, beautiful moments and children squealed with joy as they tried to capture the creatures in their hands. The bliss was palpable in the warm air. Parents watched fondly from their porches, the only thoughts running through their minds were of how perfect the night was.
A sharp cry of an ambulance shattered every ounce of that peace. Children froze, parents stood quickly; even the fireflies stopped blinking. The only emotions that could be felt were stone-cold dread and fear. In a small town such as theirs, occurrences like these were strictly limited to television screens and books. The local law enforcement only seemed to be needed for teenagers breaking curfew to smoke pot.
The siren cut off and emergency worked rushed out, urgency clear on their faces. Children ran to their parents and pressed close. The night was silent for what seemed to be an eternity. Nobody dared make a noise. They kept their wide eyes trained on the open door paramedics had entered.
Not two minutes later did a stretcher containing a small, ghostly white figure emerge. It was frantically rushed over to the emergency vehicle and "-quickly loosing blood" could be heard in a panic. A man appeared in the doorway, clutching the frame for support, tears openly streaming down his face. He cried hysterically for them to save his little girl; she was the only thing he had.
The siren screamed again, and the ambulance raced away in an attempt to beat death. The sound faded away in the distance, leaving the big, twinkling Ohio sky, the flickering of lightening bugs, and broken sobbing in the warm air.
Two Years Later...
The mirror was my worst enemy. Every morning it reflected just what I didn't want to see; seemingly laughing right in my face. I stared at the pale underside of my arms, disgust worming its way through my chest. "It's been two years; why can't you leave me alone?" I asked the faded, yet prominent red lines littering the skin. They said nothing in response, but continued to stay put. I let out a sigh and pulled a sweatshirt over my head, despite the warm summer temperatures. "Don't want to look at you," I muttered.
I stepped out of my room into the too-large and too-lonely house. I always thought the size was ironic, since only my father and I inhabited its space. Most days it was eerily quiet. I quietly made my way down the staircase and to the kitchen, where my dad was sitting at the counter in his scrubs. His green eyes looked tired, his face scrunched up, like he was permanently worried about something. I always felt guilty catching him like this, knowing it was my fault. He used to be a handsome man (he still was), but as much as he tried to stay strong, life was getting the better of him and his face reflected it. He was only 45, but stress had aged him to look much older.
He caught sight of me, instantly shaking out of his expression and offered me a smile. "Autumn! Just the girl I wanted to see!" He pulled out the chair next to him and patted the base. I slowly walked over and sat down, staring at him expectantly. "What would you say to a father-daughter trip this summer?"
This piqued my interest. I sat up a little straighter and cracked a tiny smile. "Really? To where and for how long?" Vacations didn't tend to last very long, with my dad working at the hospital. He worked through Thanksgiving and Christmas the year prior in hopes of getting more time off during the summer, as it was my last break before plowing head first into senior year.
"I pulled a few strings and managed to get three weeks off." I gaped at that bit of information.
"Dad, that's practically imposs-"
"As for the location," he cut me off. "I was thinking somewhere we've never been. I'll give you a hint: it's warm." My brow furrowed and beautiful, tropical scenes played in my head. I sighed happily at the idea of laying on a beach in Hawaii with the sun setting and the warm water gently lapping at my feet. Or possibly watching dolphins jump up from the lovely Caribbean waters. Maybe, floating in perfectly clear water like the pictures I saw from Twitter.
"There are so many; just tell me."
"Ok, I have a trip planned for us to spend three weeks in…" He paused in his attempt to draw suspense. "California!"
I froze, dread creeping into my body. That was the exact place I didn't want to be. All the sun and tourist attractions California could possibly offer still wouldn't make me want to step foot in the state. Painful memories started forcing their way into my head and I aggressively shoved them back down. "Absolutely not."
"Autumn-"
"We both know why that's the stupidest idea you've ever had!"
"Autumn Marie Knight, this is not up for debate." His tone was forceful. I saw how tense his jaw was and knew being stubborn wouldn't help me. Trying to argue with my father would only end up being detrimental to me. Most days he held a calm and kind demeanor, but he had his hot-headed moments. "I spoke to your mother over Christmas time-" he held up his hand as soon as I opened my mouth to protest, "and she misses you."
I crossed my arms and let out a grumble. My dad's eyes softened. "It's been eight years," he pointed out gently. I remained in my silent fury. He sighed. "She wants to see you. Katie and Kendall miss you too." At the last name I snorted and muttered doubtful. "Autumn, please-"
"When do we leave?" I asked coldly.
"Tomorrow; pack quickly."
Apartment 2J buzzed with its usual liveliness. The bright orange couch was occupied by four screaming boys as they jabbed at their video game controllers. The large tv showed some gruesome zombie game that Kendall, Carlos, Logan, and James were just enthralled with. Katie sat to the side at the kitchen counter, rolling her eyes at their youthful antics. Out of nowhere, a zombie popped up, causing James to let out a girlish shriek and throw his controller right at the head of Kendall.
The blonde shouted in pain and smacked James upside the head. "DUDE!"
"This isn't my fault! Carlos picked out the game!" Upon hearing his name, said boy put his controller down and smirked.
"Awww, is James scared? Is he going to have nightmares tonight?" The Latino teased. Katie turned to her phone, knowing how this situation was about to play out.
"Oh yeah? Who's the one that still needs a nightlight?"
Within seconds a full blown argument had erupted. Somehow, Logan got pulled in. The small, 15 year-old girl cracked a smile and continued on her phone. Weird insults were thrown, one on top of the other and before too long the sound of furniture scraping across the floor could be heard. Katie let out an annoyed huff and stood up, cautiously walking to stand in front of the fighting boys.
"How about you all stop being stupid and shut up?" She pushed her way into the middle and shoved them apart. Kendall dusted himself off and pulled his sister close. James fixed his hair and sent a semi-angry glare to Carlos, who just plopped down on the couch.
"Katie, you're the only one who keeps us from killing each other," Logan said while affectionately ruffling her hair. Her older brother hugged her tight as she rolled her eyes, trying to brush off his compliment, despite the warmth it brought.
"Baby sister, you amaze me sometimes," Kendall said as he placed a kiss to the top of her head. Suddenly keys rattled in the door and Jennifer Knight walked through, nervousness written clear on her usually sunny face. She kicked the door closed and set the overflowing grocery bags in her arms on the counter, nearly dropping them in the process. The boys exchanged confused looks.
"Mom, what's with the insane amount of food? I know we eat a lot, but that's a bit much, even for us," Kendall said. His mother let out a breath and turned to them, an unnaturally wide smile plastered on her face.
"Boys and Katie, sit." She commanded as she went to stand by them. The redhead took in a huge breath. "We have guests coming tomorrow." Jennifer was met by confused silence, which she took as a plea to continue. "It's…" her face held a combination of excitement and wariness. "Kendall, it's your father and sister."
The blond's facial expression immediately turned to one of disgust and anger. "No, there's no way in hell Autumn is welcome-"
"This is not up for debate," his mom interrupted sternly. "Not a single one of you are allowed to protest this. It's been eight years since we've seen them. Don't you miss Autumn?"
"No," came the unison reply of all four boys. Katie looked at them with confusion. Carlos's mouth was turned down in a frown, looking like he just smelled something bad. Logan's chocolate eyes showed anger as his fists clenched by his side. James sat there, his jaw set tightly, his eyes held the same anger as Logan's, but held a hint of betrayal.
Kendall, though, had a fire blazing in his green eyes. He stood up, fury radiating from him. Katie shrunk back in fear and looked to her mom. "You can let them in— whatever— but don't expect me to like any bit of it." He spat before storming to his room.
A tangible awkwardness hung in the air for a few minutes. Everybody looked at one another, not quite sure what to do. Carlos stood up slowly.
"So… Who wants dinner?"
Phew, wow, I managed to pop out chapter one. I guess I don't really have a whole lot to say other than: please leave a review, favorite, etc… I absolutely LOVE hearing from you all and I don't really have any friends on here and I really want to make some!
Oh, and I'm holding to my old tradition: if you review you get a shoutout before each chapter AND CYBER COOKIES/PIES/CAKES/WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT! I mean, who can resist that? PLEASE LOVE ME AND THIS STORY!