**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Darkest Powers that would be Kelley Armstrong! I don't own The Last Song either, that would be the awesome Nicholas Sparks!**

A/N: So this is my first DP fiction. It was inspired by the Last Song but it will have a slightly different plot just so that I don't give everything away. And no, it was not the movie that inspired me. It was the amazing novel! Please R&R 'cause I love you!

Playlist:

Growing up – The Maine

Chapter 1

Chloe

…

It had a beautiful forest. It was green and soft looking. Mossy, I guess you could call it. I have seen a lot of cities in the last couple of years and I've seen a lot of different climates. I liked this one though; it was all summer and no winter, maybe a month of fall at most. It was a huge plus for someone like me. Someone who liked the beach and the sun. I didn't like it for the warmth or the fact that I could get year-round tan; it was because no matter how dark your thoughts would get and how miserable everything would seem, you would look around yourself and things wouldn't seem so bad. And I like being able to see the upside of things. It has gotten really difficult to do so lately, though. That's why they sent me here, I'm sure of it. Well, that and for Peter's sake of course.

Peter got sent to my Dad almost straight away. They wouldn't let him stay with me and Aunt Lauren. And I could get why; he was too young to be away from both his parents. In the back off my head I always knew that I should have gone with him right away but you're not always thinking straight. I sure as hell wasn't. I convinced myself that if I just stayed with my Aunt Lauren for the summer I could go off to college and that would be the end of it. I would be free. But then I screwed up.

I'm not going to get into the specifics of the things that I did, but I'll tell you this much though… if I were to do it all again I would probably change a lot of things. But to name one; I would sure as hell think before dying a red highlights into my hair and getting my nose pierced. I kind of regret doing that.

Aunt Lauren was a great woman. She tried to be there for me. She really did. It wasn't her fault that she couldn't. I don't – can't – blame her for sending me away. I was a handful and she couldn't handle it. And I don't think that she knew what she was getting herself into, she had known me since I was born. She even helped raise me. She just didn't know how much I'd changed. She bought me clothes when I refused to buy them myself for the money that Dad sent me. She pretended not to hear me sneaking out of the house late at night. So you can't say that she didn't try.

But of course, I couldn't tell her that. Even now, sitting in the backseat of her bright blue Audi I couldn't utter a word. For once, I was truly at a loss. It would be too easy saying something rude or even vicious to her and it would be too hard to say something nice. Too hard to beg her to take me back to New York and swear that I would be better this time. It wouldn't be true and it wouldn't be fair. Not to either of us.

So I did what seemed the most logical at the time. I turned up the music on my iPod until I the music snaked its way into my brain and I couldn't think anymore.

I could feel Aunt Lauren watching me as I paced up the wooden steps that led to the front door. She hadn't even looked at me when she parked the car. She had only said one word. Leave. It was that simple. I had climbed out of the car and slammed the door shut behind me.

I glanced back at her and met her small eyes for a second before she looked away. I shook my head silently to myself and put my palm flat against the door. I sighed and knocked two times. I could hear the sound of crackling floorboards from inside and a muffled voice. It sounded vaguely like "Coming!".

The door opened and to me it seemed like slow-motion. I could see the back of Peter's head as he laughed at someone behind him and then his head turned to see who had knocked. Then his small face clouded with shock. "Chloe?" He asked squinting at me like it was hard to tell if it was really me. I suppose it had to be. I looked different. The last time he saw me my hair was still clean of dye, my nose didn't have a small diamond stud in it and I wasn't wearing black jeans and a tight black tee in the middle of July. Then he stepped outside, closing the door behind him. "Is that really you?"

I closed my eyes and managed a tight nod. I was so scared at that moment. I didn't want him to hate me. Then I felt something wrap around my waist. I opened my eyes and saw Peter hugging my waist, grinning up at me. "You don't hate me?" I asked, surprised.

He frowned. "I could never hate you. You're my sister." Then he hesitated. "Does Dad know that you're coming?"

"Yes, Peter," I said. "Of course he knows."

He nodded and then whispered. "He misses you, you know?"

His blue eyes that resembled my own in so many ways were wide and filled with hurt. I sighed and gave him a hug. "I know. But I don't know if I can forgive him."

"Can you try?" He asked, stepping away from me.

I opened my mouth to speak when the door opened revealing Dad. He looked different. His usually neat black hair was a tousled mess and his brown eyes were alive. "Chloe," he whispered hoarsely. "You look…" He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Different."

"Yeah," I muttered sarcastically.

We all stood in silence for a moment until Peter broke it. "Isn't Aunt Lauren going to come out of the car?"

"Go ask her," I suggested somewhat snottily and pushed past Dad through the door.

It was a small house, not really new or expensive but it was comfortable and homey. Just like Dad. And guess what. It was right beside the beach. A beach house. It was practically perfect. I hated it. I looked around the living room, it wasn't very neat but it wasn't messy either. I guess you could call it "lived in". I traced the wall with my pinkie as I walked over to the bookshelf. I saw a picture of me when I was about ten; I was holding a three year old Peters hand and grinning at the camera. As I thought back I could vaguely remember the day but not for the obvious reasons, it wasn't because I got my first bike or because I lost a tooth or something. It was the day before Dad walked out on us.

"Looking at old memories?"

I whirled around and saw Dad standing in the doorway. "Where's Peter?"

He frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "He's with Lauren."

I managed a quick nod, looking away from him. "How has he been?" I asked tightly.

Dad looked down at his feet, pained. "He misses her, he missed you, too."

"Yeah?" I snarled. "Well, he missed you when you were gone, too."

"Chloe-" he began but I cut him off.

"Don't. Just… don't," I warned as I passed him on my way out the door.

The sun was high in the sky as I walked down the unfamiliar beach right beneath Dad's house. The sand was beginning to fill my black Converse sneakers but I couldn't have cared less. My mind wasn't on what I was doing; it was more focused on why I was doing it. Why did Dad have to talk about her? He didn't have to bring her up, in fact he shouldn't have. Of course Peter misses her. Of course I miss her. I mean… what did he expect?

The further I walked the more apparent it became that this small town wasn't quite as small as I had anticipated. Teenagers crowded the beach, all different in a lot of ways, but they seemed have one thing in common; they were all giving me strange looks. I could see why, too. I was without a doubt the odd one out. I didn't have a tan, my makeup was dark and probably smudged by now and I didn't even care. I met a few of their rude stares with a cold glare that clearly said back off. I didn't want trouble but I wouldn't take any crap either.

There was a carnival in town, too. Right by the beach. I could see a Ferris wheel, a haunted house and a rollercoaster. Peter would surely want to go, maybe Dad would take him.

I bought a strawberry milkshake from a guy in a candy stand and then moved on. Suddenly, as I was walking I felt something crash into me. Then I was on the ground… and my milkshake was on me. I looked up to see a big dark haired guy on top of me. "Get off of me!" I screamed.

The guys green eyes widened with realization and he quickly stood up. He didn't even offer me a hand up. I wouldn't have taken it but it was the gesture that mattered. I pushed myself off the ground and looked down at my now milkshake covered t-shirt. I looked at him and really took him in. He had black hair styled in a casual way that made me wonder whether it was styled at all, fascinating emerald eyes and tan olive skin. He was wearing a white sleeveless tee and I could see that he had seriously toned arms. He wasn't really the hottest guy and he shot out some pretty nasty vibes. So, of course, that brought out the very best in me. Note that sarcasm.

"You should watch where your going," he said menacingly in a deep rumbling voice.

"What the hell, man? You were the one who crashed into me! And, you made me spill my freaking milkshake all over my shirt." I could barely even hear the laughter coming from around us and I was too caught up in the argument to even care.

He glared at me. "Well, you should have noticed that we were in the middle of a game." He gestured a volleyball net behind him where some guys were standing all staring at us.

"Well I would apologize but I'm afraid that I would be lying," I said while scowling back at him.

A good-looking Asian boy came up from behind him. He had brown eyes and blonde hair. It was strange, but I swear, his hair almost looked natural. "Cool it, Derek." The boy said.

The big guy – Derek – snorted.

"I'm Simon," the Asian boy said offering me his hand to shake.

I looked at his hand for a second before meeting his gaze again. "So?"

He sheepishly retrieved his hand and stuffed it into the pocket of his khaki shorts. "I'm sorry about Derek. He's not good with, well – people."

I was surprised at how Simon could talk like Derek wasn't even standing there. What surprised me even more was how Derek didn't do anything about it.

"I'll pay for your shirt," he offered somewhat desperately.

"That's okay," I said. "You didn't do anything wrong," glanced over at Derek. "Just don't bother me again." I turned around and headed back towards the carnival I had seen some shirt stands when I was passing through earlier.

It turns out that the shirt stores I'd seen only sold the stupidest t-shirts I'd ever seen. I mean, who in the right mind would ever buy a shirt with Nemo on it? I would rather stay in the milkshake mess.

I was searching through a pile of clothes when a girl came up beside me. She had long messy dark hair and dark eyeliner. She wore a tight grey tank and ripped black jeans. She was the first girl I'd seen that didn't look like Malibu Barbie.

"I'm Rachelle," she introduced. "But my friends call me Rae."

"Nice to meet you Rae, I'm Chloe." I replied.

"I saw what happened back there," Rae said, glancing down at my shirt thoughtfully. "Come on, I know a place where you can find some better shirts." Then she grabbed my hand and began towing me away.

I let her pull me through the crowd and to a different stand. Rae was right; the shirts there were much better. I picked up a purple tee with logo for The Maine on it.

"That will be fifteen dollars," the girl who was working the stand said in an annoyingly perky voice.

I handed her a crumbled ten dollar bill and then a five. I pulled the shirt over my head not bothering to take off the black one first since the milkshake had dried hours ago.

"You're new here, right?" Rae asked later on when we were pacing around the carnival.

"Am I that obvious?"

Rae rolled her eyes. "We don't get a lot of newbie's around here."

"So?" I raised an eyebrow.

She laughed. "Word travels fast."

"Do you know who that guy was?" I asked. "The one who crashed into me earlier? I think his name was Derek or something."

"Yeah," Rae said. "I know about him and Simon, they're like stepbrothers or something, I'm not really sure. I'm more familiar with their bitch of a sister."

"Why? Who is she?"

"Her name is Tori Bae and I swear she's like evil incarnated or something!"

I chuckled. "She's really that bad?"

"Worse," Rae joined in with laughter. Rae was nice but there was something slightly off about her. Something wasn't quite normal. I shrugged it off, it was probably nothing.

"What time is it?" Rae suddenly asked.

I pulled my cell out of my pocket and checked the time. "Umm, it's a quarter past eight."

Rae grinned. "Awesome! You have to come and meet Liam!"

"Who's Liam?" I asked, following Rae.

"He's a friend," Rae said with a small smirk. "But I want him to be more, you know?" Then she gave me a pointed look. "So don't try to fool around with him."

"I wasn't planning on it." I said.

"If you say so," Rae said, eying me suspiciously.

I nodded. "I mean it."

Then she smiled and clapped her hands happily. "Great!"

I frowned, did she have mood swings, or what? "What does Liam do, exactly?"

"You'll see."

A/N: This was truly fun to write. I think it could have been a lot better, let me know what you think. You know, if I should continue it and if I do, I'll probably write longer chapters since this was just a try-out!

Please REVIEW and maybe I'll give you an update soon!

Love,

Annabel