Hey guys! Sorry for the really long break. I've been so busy. But I found this chapter on my computer somewhere, and, well, why not upload it?

I want to say thank you to the people that like the prologue. You guys kept me going with this story.

I also want to thank everyone who is still reading this. The people who didn't forget about me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Shake It Up. I only own my OC's.

And now, here is the first chapter of "How My Life Changed Forever"!

Chapter 1

"Alright, that's enough everybody. Pack up, and I will see all of you tomorrow."

I went over to my bag and put it over my shoulder. I then waved good-bye to the class and began to head home.

It was a cool, fall, day, and as I was walking, I could feel the wind blowing.

But before I continue, I should probably tell you who the hell I am, right?

Hi. I'm Claire. Claire Pennington. I'm 15 years old, live in Boston, Massachusetts, and go to Kadlees High School, and plan to go to college once I graduate. That is, if my family will allow that. I do good in school, it's just that my family isn't so big on me going to college.

Anything else you should know? Nope, that's probably it.

Oh wait! I almost forgot something. I forgot the most important thing about me!

I'm a dancer.

Dance has always been my thing. Ever since I was 8, that is. It was a special day, the day I started dancing. Dance is my life, and I don't know what I would do without it.

I take three styles of dance: lyrical, tap, and hip-hop. I don't know why, but hip-hop has always been my favorite. I like lyrical and tap, it's just that… when you're dancing hip-hop, there's no rules. I like that.

That's where I'm walking home from, actually. Hip-hop rehearsal. Dance is a far walk from my house, but my parents don't wanna waste their time driving me to rehearsal all the time.

So, after 20 minutes of walking, I'm finally home.

I take my keys out of my bag and unlock the door. I don't bother to tell anyone that I'm home though, it's not like they care.

"Claire!" my step-dad snaps at me as soon as I take my first step inside.

"Oh, uh… hi Mark." I say quietly, nervous. I never refer to Mark as my dad. He demands that I never refer to him as dad. And I don't argue with that. Mark will never be my dad.

"You were supposed to be home 15 minutes ago! Where have you been?!"

"I'm… I'm sorry Mark. But Miss. Diane kept us late, she wanted to run a number one last time and-" I begin, nervous.

"There are no excuses. You know that. You're lucky that we even let you take dance, and you know our rules."

"I don't get why you even let her take those classes." my older brother, Carter says. "She's not even good!"

"Oh shut up, you." I mumble to him, looking at my brother.

Mark glances me a look, and I look down at the floor.

When Mark glances away from me, I go up to my room. It's the only room that I feel comfortable in. I then turn on the TV in my room (it was a gift from my friend Kaylee), to 'Shake It Up, Boston'.

'Shake It Up, Boston' is a local dance show that is filmed about a half-hour away from my house. I discovered it about a month after I started dancing. It's been my favorite show since. And it's my absolute dream to be cast as a dancer. Hopefully, it will happen one day. Scratch that. I know it will happen one day.

After the host, Peter Michaels, introduces the show, the dancers start dancing.

Sometimes, as I'm sitting down and watching TV, I wish that a fairy godmother could just float down here and help me with all of my problems. But I know that fairies don't exist, and unforchantly, they never will.

So I just sit down on my bed, watch the show, and be happy that I'm all alone.

xox

Once the show is over, my mom screams at me to come down for dinner. So I shut off my TV and go downstairs. I'm obedient when it comes to my parents. That's just me.

I come downstairs to find my parents and my brother already sitting at the table.

"Sit down, you." Mark says sharply, pointing at the empty chair.

I sit down and begin to put some potatoes on my plate. But as I'm doing that, I get interrupted.

"Your father has some important news to tell you both." my mom says.

Me and Carter glance at each other, which we do when we get nervous.

"Yes, Mark?" Carter asks. Even though Mark likes Carter a whole lot more than me, Carter doesn't like calling Mark our "dad", either

"Well," Mark began, "my job location got moved. To Chicago."

"And?" Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Since I really need this job, I accepted the move."

I drop my fork, and it makes a loud clang noise on the plate.

"Your… Your moving to Chicago?" I ask.

"Not just me, Claire. We're all moving to Chicago."

And that, everyone, is how my whole life collapsed on top of me in one single night.

That's Chapter 1! Big cliffhanger, right? I hope you all enjoyed it!

For any new readers out there, I do that a lot, just so you know, the cliffhangers. But for any of my previous readers that have stumbled on to this story, I hope you all enjoyed the little reference in there.

It might be a while before I post the next chapter. I have no idea when I'll be posting it.

Don't forget to review and tell me what you think of the story so far!