Hey guys. This is my second fanfic. I am not some award winning author of a best seller, so take it easy on me. Please review.

~Bowmangirl123

A Change of Heart

Chapter 1: A Prize

"I can't wait! I love you, sis!" I shouted and exchanged hugs. By the way, my name is Nikki. I'm 17 years old and I live with my big sister, Ashley, my mom, Susan, and my dad, Alex, along with my pets. My critters include a shaggy gray and white husky, Knakita, and my two turtles, Bubbles and Nibbles.

You wonder what I was yelling about before? Here's how the story goes. My sister won a competition at college. The grand prize to be exact. What was it, you ask? How about an all- expense paid trip to South America. Two weeks of forested wilderness as far as the eye can see. Here's the catch. My sister couldn't go due to other plans, so she gave me the tickets.

I know what you're thinking. How could my parents let a mere 17 year old girl go to another country alone? Well, my parents are very laid back, but it's not like they don't care about me. They just respect me too much to limit my freedom, that's all.

Hours of packing later, checking and rechecking my bags, I heaved a sigh of relief and exhaustion. I had to make this trip worth something. Life was hard right now, after breaking up with my old boyfriend, Mike. A mere few days ago, I was crying myself to sleep every night. I tried hard to forget about him, and hopefully this trip would help.

"You be careful, ya hear?" came Dad's commanding yet totally soft and understandable voice.

"Don't worry, Dad," I replied merrily with a hug, myself on the peak of crying. I looked next to my mom, smiling.

"I'll miss you, honey. Stay away from spiders, snakes, and … boys," she sneaked in. A lone tear fell across my cheeks. Tears welted in my puffy eyes, thinking about this departure. I hugged her also. Last was Ashlee. A calm understanding look became visible to my royal blue eyes. She didn't even need to say anything verbally for me to know that she would miss me dearly too. Tears ran freely across my face now.

Silence grasped us all as we drove to the airport. It was before sunrise, and the dark air and stars were still visible in the pitch black atmosphere. A soft breeze made it through my slightly cracked window. It was as if it was pushing me away from the airport. As if it didn't want me to leave North Carolina. Slightly bemused, I just ignored it. 'Whatever,' I thought.

The bright lights and giant runway told me that we arrived at the airport. We parked the Toyota and walked through the automatic doors.

We strode to the 6:30 flight area. It was 5:45 so we had some time to browse the shops and get some breakfast. Our arrival time was 12:45 and I would be starving by then. After buying some Cinnamon Melts from McDonald's, I finally gave my farewells to my family with more hugs.

I made my way over to my area again and sat down next to a young couple. Something tugged at my chest when I saw this. It reminded my too much of the painful memories I so yearned to leave my mind. Not wanting to shed any tears in public, I quickly got up and threw away my trash and went to the restroom just in case. Instead of sitting next to the lovey-dovey couple, I sat next to an elderly man. He looked blankly at me and I smiled warmly back. I glanced at my cell phone for any missed calls or texts, but nothing appeared. I slouched a little but didn't let it bring me down. I looked at the time and noticed that it was departure time.

I only waited a mere few minutes before the lady behind the desk opened the doors. I handed her my tickets and she looked at me strangely, but just shrugged and took my ticket. I walked calmly down the long hallway and into the magnificent plane. I marveled at the fine decor and sturdy frame. I sat near the back in a vacant seat. I was near the first few people to board the plane so I was near empty upon my arrival. I opened my pack of Skittles when I sat down so that I could have something to chew on. I was looking out the window and chowing down before I even realized that the seat beside me was now occupied. I moved my long brown hair to the side to now see a being beside me. He was a tan boy, no older than me. His long shaggy brown hair accentuated his young handsome face. I mist have been staring since he looked up at me with his chocolate brown gorgeous eyes. A smile found its way upon his lips. I averted my eyes before a visible blush painted my cheeks.

A sudden dart meant that the plane was taking liftoff. I ran out of Skittles to chew and I needed something so that I didn't get a headache. I looked through my purse frantically, but was unsuccessful. A surprising hand made its way toasted me with an item in it. "Want some gum?" the boy said smoothly and evenly. I just stared like an idiot, mouth gaping.

"Uh, th-thanks," I stuttered, blushing fiercely. I took it from his large hand and popped it in my mouth. Minutes later and we were off the solid ground. I watched the changing scenes, amused. The people grew smaller, along with the people and cars. A small flock of birds flew past us and quickly dispersed in many different directions into the tranquil sky.

"You may now turn on all electronics," came the cracking voice over the intercom. I pulled out my phone to text me mom about a safe departure. A beeping alerted me to an incoming text from Mom. 'That's great. Let me no when u land, honey. :-)' it read. My lips curved a little from her sad attempt at a smiley face. I slid my phone back into the depths of my purse. Just as silence enveloped the back of the plane, the mysterious boy looked at me. "What're you going to South America for?" he asked calmly. I looked at him surprised by his sudden question.

"Oh, sorry. My name is Travis, by the way," he added. I smiled sheepishly. "Hi, I'm Nikki. I won this ticket to South America." He nodded and smiled at me. "I'm visiting a sick friend," he explained. Man, he was so cool and here I am acting like an idiot. I sighed deeply before leaning my head back.

I was so tired. It might have been that I didn't sleep much last night due to excitement. It might have been the heavy McDonalds food, but, either way, I was suddenly exhausted. Seeing that I had hours to go, I closed my eyes and let Lady Sleep close her fragile arms around me. Sleeping was surprisingly easy, seeing that I was hundreds of feet above the ground.

My eyes cracked open just enough to wince at the sudden burst of light. My neck hurt, for some reason. I opened my eyes wider and gasped. My neck... and head were on his shoulders I immediately straightened my head and loomed at Travis. His eyes also cracked open. Apparently, he had fallen asleep also. I had no clue in the slightest if he knew what I did. I felt both embarrassed and confused. I felt bad for waking his too.

After seconds, he closed his eyes again and went back to sleep after readjusting a bit. I sighed in relief of no questions asked. I decided that I had enough sleep for one day. I put my iPod headphones into my ears. I pressed the play button, and was flushed with rap music and pop. I went through my entire playlist, so I decided to look outside for a bit.

Nature always seemed to calm my tense nerves and there was a lot of it. Trees were everywhere, neighbored by bushes and flowers poking in here and there. We passed a waterfall and I stared, wide-eyed, at it until it was out of my view. I was looking out for wildlife too. A few macaws here and there along with some monkeys littered the dense foliage.

I desperately wanted to see a live tiger. They are my favorite animals and it has always been my dream to see one in the wild. Pushing that out of my mind, so that I wouldn't get disappointed for not seeing one, I watched the airplane slowly descent. I looked at the scenery growing larger and more detailed with every passing moment.

A large thump meant that out large plane bad landed. I waited for it to come to a complete stop. Travis had woken up sometime and had his bag packed and ready. I quickly followed in his example. News from the intercom informed us that we were allowed to leave.

I walked casually out of my aisle and strode down the length of the airplane. The warm air hit me like a splash of water which brought a smile to my face. We were still in an airport, but the large forest of trees was still visible. I skipped merrily through the small airport. Oh, did I mention that this trip came with a rental car. A Toyota Corolla to be exact. The sparkling blue paint shimmered in the unrelenting sun.

"Nikki!" a voice from behind, called, instantly grabbing my attention. I turned to see Travis looking at me with his gleaming eyes. I rolled down the window of my new car.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go get lunch with me. There's a really good restaurant not too far from here," he asked hopefully. This surprised me more than me getting this trip. My face must have looked startled since his smile faded slowly. "I understand if you don't want..."

"That would be great," I interrupted. I didn't know my way around here so it would probably be helpful to know where one place is. That's all he needed to hear to regain his confidence and happiness again.

"Awesome. You can just follow my car. It's that gray Honda Civic," he pointed out helpfully. I waited for him to pull out by texting my mom about my safe arrival.

'Great. In the glove drawer, theres Ur hotel info,' she texted back. I checked and sure enough, a map and hotel reservations were the first items that came into view.

I put the keys into the socket, pushed down on the pedals, clicked my seat belt into place, and waited for Travis' car to pull out. Once it was ahead of me, I pulled out and stayed close behind it.

Well? I hope you liked it. I was just at home one day, and this idea just popped in my head. I know there's grammar problems and stuff. Sorry! Please REVIEW too.

~Bowmangirl123