So this is my own take on Coraline, which means there are no characters from the actual book or film. The sotry is quite similar though so that's why I based it under this category. Take your time to read it, hope you enjoy.

Part One

So this is paradise. was what had been going through young Mia's mind as she and her family drove down the road of their new home: Bloomwood, Dorset. With its quaint little cottages that lined up along both sides of the road, the pleasant river that ran at the back of the right-hand side houses and the open green fields filled with cows behind the left-hand side houses, and the bright blue sky that seemed like it would never grey, Bloomwood really did seem like paradise, just like Mia's father had said. But then of course, Mia was only seven when they moved.

At first it had been great; Mia had quickly made friends with the neighbours' children, and each day they would either go out into the fields and play games like cowboys and indians, or go by the river and watch the fish swim between the reeds. But by the time Mia reached ten years of age some of her friends began to move away because their parents had become bored of pleasant Bloomwood. "I don't see why they had to move." Mia said sulkily to her mother after another one of her friends moved away. Her mother had simply shrugged and said that sometimes people grew tired of the same place after a while.

When Mia turned twelve she began to feel lonely in Bloomwood. When she had first moved there she had a total of fifteen friends, but now only five remained. Mia had came to the conclusion that she was depressed by this and sulked around the cottage all day.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, child." said her father when Mia slumped down next to him on the settee.

"I'm depressed, Daddy." she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

Her father laughed. "You're only twelve, Mia. You can't be depressed."

"Oh, but I am. Everyone is moving away and soon it'll only be me . . . all on my own." She looked at her father and smiled her cheesy smile. He chuckled at her front tooth that was missing – one of her last baby teeth. "I'll see what I can do." he said. He didn't do anything, though. Not until Mia was thirteen he and his wife had brought her a dog for Christmas. He was a small pug, not much older than eight weeks. Mia had called him Fugly, a name which her mother had strongly disapproved of. But even though Mia now had Fugly to keep her company she felt isolated and trapped in Bloomwood, like it was a lonely desert that she would spend the rest of her life.

And by the time she was fourteen, Mia had only managed to keep hold of two friends. One of her friends was Suzie, (she liked her name spelt with a Z instead of an S) a redhead with freckles splashed across her nose and up her arms. She was a little younger than Mia but she was taller by several inches. Her other friend was Mason. He was defiantly taller than both Mia and Suzie, reaching just above six foot, which was quite unusual for a fifteen year old in Bloomwood. He had shaggy blonde hair and a scar on his left cheek in the shape of a crescent moon from an accident involved a bike handle. Though they were all at a mature age, none of them acted it. They would all sneak out every night and go cow tipping for an adrenaline rush and they still had a 'secret den' at the back of the fields where the trees began to thicken. It was at this den where they spent most of their time. "So, how's convincing ya Dad to let you move comin' along?" asked Suzie as she lit a cigarette. Mason eyed her angrily. "You shouldn't smoke." he said.

Suzie shrugged. "I get bored a lot."

Mia looked down. "Nah, he still doesn't want to move."

"My Mum was talking to my Dad yesterday. I think she wants to move." said Mason.

"Oh, Massy, don;t leave us!" whined Suzie.

"Don't call me that!"

Mia sighed and checked her phone. "I better go home. It's getting dark and my Dad will start worrying."

Suzie nodded and took a deep breath from her cigarette. "See ya later."

Mason waved. "Bye."

Mia picked up her school bag and placed it over her shoulder while waving back at them. "Bye, guys." As she left the den she heard Mason hitting the cigarette out of Suzie's mouth and Suzie beginning to shout. Mia chuckled to herself and jogged through the fields. It was a short jog back to the cottages. She climbed over someone's garden fence and through the garden. Hopping back over the fence she was now facing the main road (it wasn't much of a main road, though. You were lucky to see more than a dozen cars go either way through the thin road). In front of her now was her cottage. It was painted cream and had a straw roof and little windows. A picket fence surrounded the front garden which her mother paid far too much attention to. Mia pushed through the white fence – it creaked when she opened it – and hopped from stepping stone to stepping stone until she reached the front door. When Mia was inside the house she was struck by a wave of heat and a smell of apple pie. She walked into the living room where her father sat reading the newspaper. He nodded at Mia without looking up at her. "Busy day?"

"Not really. School's boring, and we just hung out in the den when we got back." She sat down next to him and peered into the newspaper. "Dad?" she asked.

He looked at her sideways through his glasses. Her father – who went by the name of Donald – was quite a tall, lanky man who's black hair tinted with grey was beginning to bald. "What?"

"You know I mentioned yesterday about moving–"

"Urgh." Donald moaned and went back to his newspaper. "We have this conversation every single day! What's wrong with Bloomwood?"

"Nothing." muttered Mia. "I just thought you would like to live somewhere new, that's all."

"Well, I don't."

"What about Mum?"

"Your Mother likes it here. She's got a nice job at the play school and she thinks its very nice here."

"Oh, Dad."

"Listen," said Donald, throwing his newspaper into his lap. "when you reach eighteen you're free to leave."

"Eighteen?" whined Mia.

"Four more years." Her father held up four fingers. "Four more years and that's it."

"Oh!" she sighed loudly before storming off to her bedroom upstairs.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mia spent the rest of the day in her room with Fugly. It was dark in her room and the only light came from the very dim glow of the moon and the light that sneaked through the cracks in the door. Mia hated the dark. When she spent too much time staring into nothing she could feel her very sanity slipping away from her. But Mia was too angry to worry about anything creeping around her room.

She heard her father downstairs complaining about her attitude with her mother. "I'm telling you, Rose, if she doesn't want to come down here for dinner then let her starve! Starve I tells ya!". Mia rolled her eyes and stay put in her bedroom, refusing to come out. But by the time eight o'clock rolled on Mia's stomach had began to rumble. She groaned and stroked Fugly. "You'd like to move, wouldn't you?" she said to the tiny pug as he looked up at her and whined. "I thought you would." Mia mumbled. She stretched out on her soft bed and stared at the ceiling. A small crack was appearing up there. Mia smiled. She could point that out to her father. Maybe then he would like to move.

Footsteps started up the stairs. Mia's door creaked open and light came flooding into the room, making light spots appear over Mia's vision. Her mother stood in the doorway – looking completely black against the yellow light – holding a bowl. "Thought you would like some apple pie and custard." her mother said. She was

quite small compared to her father, and was very pale. Her brown hair always up in a bun and her wide green eyes always staring at something.

Mia sat up and took the bowl from her mother. "Thanks." she grumbled.

Rose sat down on the bed next to Mia and patted her knee. "I know you don't like it here, Mia. But you at it this way: you could be living in the busy city where you would have no time for anything."

"At least its not boring in the busy."

Rose sighed and stood back up. She didn't want to row with Mia. "Bring the bowl down when you finished, please."

Mia didn't look up from the bowl but she nodded to give her mother satisfaction. Rose gently shut the door and the room filled with darkness again. Mia ate her apple pie lying down with Fugly lying sound asleep on her stomach. It was peaceful for a while. The only noises Mia could here was the television from downstairs, Fugly's loud snores, and her own steady breathing. But when a heavy crack of lighting shocked the room and thunder boomed in Mia's ears, nothing was peaceful. Fugly had jumped off of her and hide under the bed. "Its okay, little guy." Mia tried to say but her voice was lost in the noise of rain and thunder. She sighed and picked up her digital clock from the sideboard. It read 9:04 in dim green numbers. Mia put the clock back down and rolled off the bed. She grabbed her pyjamas – a plain navy tee-shirt and a pair of grey cotton shorts – and left for the bathroom. Mia could hear the noise of the television, her father was watching the news. Heavy rain was due for the next two days. Mia rolled her eyes and slammed the bathroom door, making sure everyone knew she was up there.

The cold white bathroom floor tiles were so cold that that hurt Mia's feet. She yelped and jumped her way over to the sink. The taps danced with water as Mia waited for the water to heat. She raised her head and stared at herself in the mirror.

Oh you do look a mess, Mia.

Her long brown hair was tangled and limp. Dark purple circles had appeared underneath her eyes. Her lips were chapped from dehydration and her rosy cheeks stood out against pale white skin like blood on snow. She gently prodded her cheek over and over again.

Water dripped onto Mia's feet at a fast rate. She looked down at her wet, shiny feet then back to the sink. "Oh!" she gasped, fumbling with the taps. The sink was full to the brim with water and the floor was soaked. "Brilliant." Mia reached for a towel from the rack and began to wipe up the water. She threw the dripping towel into the wash basket and dunked her head into the warm water. She held her breath until her could no longer breath before whipping her head from the water, gasping for air. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. She only did it for the rush, and even though it was only a quick one it did the job. She went downstairs with her heart racing and feeling hyped. Her father and mother were sat in the settee watching the news. Mia crept into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of milk. The coldness chilled her heart as she drank it. She shook her head and grimaced like she had just drank a glass of straight vodka. Mia quietly washed the glass and trying to creep back up the stairs but the fourth step creaked and gave her away.

"Mia?" her father called.

Mia closed her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Is that you?"

"No, Dad, its the Tooth Fairy."

"Oh. Just checking, that's all."

Mia rolled her eyes and hurried back upstairs. She rushed into bed and pulled the quilt up to her chin. Fugly came out from under the bed and rested on the end of the bed near Mia's feet. "N'night, Fug." Mia yawned. She snuggled under the warm quilt and dreamed of a place far far away from Bloomwood. She dreamed of Paradise.

A/N – How was it? I know that there isn't a lot going on in this chapter but I promise that there will be more in the next chapter – which is under way. I really hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to review so I can get a glimpse of what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.