"Before Their New Lives Began"
Every teenager feels they're different, but few embrace it. Up until her freshman year, Farren Brown was an average teenager, with average parents, an average life, and average dreams. Warren always kept people at arms length, keeping them from knowing him, knowing where he came from. When the two discover secrets about themselves and each other, they have to decide how to go about their lives with their new found abilities and just how far they will go to protect the other.
Chapter 1
School was out for the summer and the small cul-de-sac Farren Brown resided in was buzzing with life. Laughs and shouts from the happy kids running through the street, parents mingled amongst each other as smoke from lit grills drifted lazily into the air. Her father, Patrick, waved for her to join the fun from his position beside of his own Char-Broil Quickset, before turning his attention back to his grilling meat, promptly turning it over and reapplying sauce. Connie, her mother, could be seen next door, chatting animatedly with the other neighborhood wives, all of whom sipped their margaritas while regaling tales of ridiculous things their families has gotten themselves into. Farren itched to go outside herself, but not to join the others in their merriment. She rather preferred simply sitting in the sun and reading one of her classics or tending to her stubborn rose bushes.
Stepping away from the large bay window facing the street, she instead went out back, to her 'fortress of solitude', as her parents had jokingly dubbed it. A small gazebo shrouded in overgrown vines and surrounded by a small pond, save for the jagged stone path leading up to it. As Farren trekked over the much-needed-to-be-replaced walk, she glanced over to the neighbors on the other side of her house. Ms Peace was on her knees, gardening gloves adorning her hands, tugging furiously at some rather stubborn weeds that had sprouted into her vegetable patch. The teen smiled and shifted her direction to that of the wire fence separating the two yards, crossing her arms over it as she watched the older woman work.
Ms Peace had lived next to Farren and her parents for over two years, and usually was the adult the teen went to when looking for advice. Her son, Warren, was Farren's age, but a few months older, and nearly always in a surly mood when his mother wasn't around. In Ms Peace's presence, however, he doted on her like a son from a different generation. The two teens weren't close, by any means, but Farren considered the quiet loner a friend. Presently he wasn't anywhere to be seen, and Farren was willing to bet he was holed up in his room, judging by the punk rock music blasting out of an opened upstairs window.
"Ms Peace!" Farren greeted, effectively startling the older woman into dropping her trowel. Her neighbor shot her head up, and for an instant fear crossed her face before a genuine smile replaced it so quickly that Farren wondered if it had existed in the first place.
"Oh Farren, how are you?" Ms Peace stood and removed her gloves, dropping them into an empty plant pot before moving towards the teen. "Why aren't you out front with the others having fun, dear?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Dad's got his famous pork chops on the grill; you have to hurry if you want some before they are all gone." Farren watched as a look of regret passed over Ms Peace's features and she tilted her head slightly in questioning.
"Well, Warren is in one of his moods again, you see. And you know how he gets. I just don't want to leave him up there while I join the festivities." Farren waved away the excuse, she liked Ms Peace, she really did, but sometimes she worried about her son so much that she kept herself from going out and doing things with other parents, enjoying herself with people her own age.
"Come over for a while, grab some food, and I'll see if I can't get Warren to at least come out of his room, okay?" A tingle in her stomach set off at the thought but she quickly squashed it down. She had been in Warren's room plenty of times, there wasn't really anything to get excited about. Well, except maybe his phenomenal collection of dragon focused decorations.
Ms Peace considered the idea for a moment, glancing to her son's window, before turning back to Farren and nodding. "I think I'll do that. Thank you, Farren. And maybe later, I could enlist your help on de-weeding my vegetables." The teen nodded and carefully climbed over the fence separating the two and followed after Ms Peace's form into the latter's house.