*waves* Hiii. This is really happening. First FF to ever write and it shall be a swan queen piece. I encourage constructive criticism and reviews. I know there will be good and bad ones, but the main take away is the fact you are reading this right now! I'm excited! So.. on with the show. Don't own anything. TW for the first 2 chapters for Alcohol, child abuse and sexual abuse.

Chapter 1.

"Emma! Get up. You are going to be late." her foster mother yells from down stairs. Emma has been awake for the past 2 hours thinking about how she can get out of the home and the city. She hates everything about her life, her fosters and the people she sees day to day.

"NOW!" Mrs. Wallace screams and hits the wall to make her point. Grunts can be heard from the upstairs bedroom as Emma shuffles from room to bathroom to get ready for the day. Converse, ripped jeans and a handed down hoodie is all she needed.

Grabbing her messenger bag and heads out to walk over to the high school. She did the same thing she did every day at school: skip the first two classes to hang out in the library, go to athletics to run and then sneak out and explore Boston. She didn't care for education, always being shipped to different families and different schools, Emma couldn't keep up with the work. Today seemed no different than every other day. Making her way from the school Emma popped in to a corner grocery store couple blocks down she frequented to get some snacks. Marco's Corner. Bailey the bagboy waved her over upon entering.

"Hey man, where have you been?"

"Emma!" The two high five and he continues, "Been helping my brother moving. Too stressed to do anything himself lately and owed him a favor. Speaking of favors, I have yours in the back. Want it?"

Emma couldn't forget her request. "Hell yes it's been way too long!" He runs out the bag door and later returns with a paper bag filed with her usual snacks, but because it was heavier she understood that there was her bottle of Gin at the bottom. Putting everything in her bag, sticks around to chat before leaving.

Emma goes to her favorite place off the riverside to an abandoned park. Sitting on one of the picnic benches facing the river front she takes out the bottle and starts to drink quickly. Gin always took her mind off everything around her. Her emerald eyes gloss over as she starts to think of the events of how she got here. The previous family had bottles laying around empty and partially full. They never noticed several missing, just as they never noticed Emma taking their beatings instead of crying out. She would wait after they slept to drink and numb the pain. Other 15 year old would have turned away due to the smell alone or morally knew drinking was for adults. Emma didn't care. She feels that drinking is the only control she has over herself. The way the alcohol burns and flows through her she feels like a small piece of herself sighs of content. Then she does.

Hearing the water and leaves made her relax. She embraced her alone time, until she heard steps coming from the walk way behind her.

Emma turns and jumps as she's been caught. Looking around to see if anyone else has come, all she see is a tall tan man with a scruffy start of a beard of auburn, green plaid shirt and bermuda shorts.

"I don't mean to startle you, I was walking and I didn't notice you were there."

Emma fidgets thinking she needed to get out of there.

"I'm August. New around here, just moved in those apartments." Pointing his fingers the direction behind him.

"I'm leaving." Emma finally gets up and puts the bottle in her bag, as she gets up the bottle tumbles out and clacks to the ground rolling to him. August picks it up and calculatingly looks from the bottle to Emma. "Here." Handing it back to her. Hesitant at first, Emma grabs it and places it securely back in the bag.

"Thanks" she mumbled and looking away, shuffling her feet together.

"Why do you drink?"

"Why do you care?"

Putting his hands up to surrender, "Fair point, but when is everything fair anymore." She looks at him now very carefully as if he knew about her.

"Why aren't you in school?" he asks walking down the walk way near the bench to the left of Emma and sits.

Emma grabs on to her wrist and spins her bracelet, a social worker had given her the bracelet stating it was in her basket when she was found as a baby. She debates on telling the truth or an excuse.

Before she decides her train of through is interrupted by his voice, "I may not know you, but I do know that from what I can tell about you, you are lost. No sure where you are headed or going, I get that. Doesn't mean you can give up what you have and do something about it and make something for yourself." She spins around angry and saddened by his brutal honesty and she hates it. He continues, "I dropped out of high school and decided school wasn't worth my time. I would smoke and drink just to pass the time, doesn't mean I didn't care cause one day it clicked. I got my GED and finally did something worth while. You just have to try."

"You don't even know me, why are you saying this to me!" Emma yells trying not to sound emotional. She knows he's not lying. Her 'superpower' has never failed her.

"I see potential for greatness. You just don't see it yet. Someone told me that "it all starts with you", ever since then I cared more about myself and what I did from then. Think of it as paying it forward." August gets up and leaves back towards the walk way to the apartment complex.

Emma stood dazed and confused with that she was trying to process. Someone showed genuine concern about her wellbeing and he didn't know her name. Snapping back she looks at the table when she notices a card is laying there. Thinking that wasn't there before, she picks it up and reads, 'SSG August W. Booth U.S. Army Recruiter'.