Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the characters I've made up and my imagination. Sadly, the Gallagher Girls series is not mine.

This is my first story on here so I welcome any feedback on how to improve my writing and such. I'll try to update as much as possible and try to give my chapters some more length. Until then, enjoy Chapter 1. Also, in case you were wondering, I got the title for the story from the Beatles song "Here Comes the Sun".

Chapter 1 - Dancing in the Dark (by Bruce Springsteen)

My shoes clacked on the cement of the sidewalk as I strolled along its easy path. In the distance I could hear people laughing and enjoying themselves as fireworks rained down in the sky. It was the Fourth of July and I had been on my own for a month now.

It's surprising how time flies when you're getting nowhere. I had no answers to the questions that were flooding my brain and I was completely alone with no backup. A constant feeling of stupidity and fear had taken up residence in me but I still refused to turn tail and go back to Gallagher Academy where I was safe. I couldn't decide if this was because I was too proud or too scared of my mother's reaction to my leaving.

I turned a corner and headed to downtown. I may have been on my own but that didn't mean I couldn't find a little entertainment in the festivities that were going on around me. As I stepped into the dark alley that would lead me to the party, I felt a shiver go up my spine. The hair on the back of my neck prickled and my senses seemed to heighten. I could smell cotton smell cotton candy and dozens of different types of fried food ahead of me. I could feel the tennis shoes on my feet, soft and worn-in, ready for me to start sprinting at any second. And behind me I could hear the quiet footsteps of someone who thought they were being sneaky.

Obviously, they were wrong.

I made sure not to quicken my pace as all the while I thought back on that new kick we learned in P&E right before finals week. I personally hadn't been able to practice it during class because of my shoulder but I had watched everyone practice it on dummies. It was a pretty effective kick to the neck and I found myself wishing that I had been able to learn it as the steps behind me quickened.

I was halfway down the alley when a hand snaked itself through my arm. I jutted my elbow toward the person's sternum right before ducking down and sweeping my foot behind me. I heard a thud as the person landed on their butt. I straddled their torso and trapped their arms and was just about to smack my forehead into theirs when I looked into their face and saw—

"Matilda?"

The woman below me giggled and effortlessly squirmed her way out from below me. I remained on the ground in shock as the woman who used to babysit me brushed herself off. When she extended her hand to me, I accepted it in a daze. "What are you doing here, Tillie?"

She gave me a little smirk. "I could ask the same of you, Cammie."

I huffed in annoyance and started walking again, this time not showcasing my moves when she slipped her hand through my arm again. "Your mother called me. I guess she found something very distressing of yours and called me in her panic."

"Well, I'm fine. So, you can go and tell her that. I promise I'll be back in time for the beginning of the school year."

"Cam, don't be stubborn. The frown you wear when you are doesn't suit you."

"I'm not!" I exclaimed indignantly. Matilda just rolled her eyes at me.

"So you're telling me that you've actually succeeded in finding answers to the pressing questions in your head? Please. I've been following you since my last mission finished over two weeks ago and you had no idea."

"Well, that's because you're…you. No one can hide from you." This brought a laugh out of her.

"There are a few people who can evade me. But seventeen-year-olds can't." Tillie stopped me as we reached the end of the alley. People were crowding this street, their faces painted in random splashes of color as fireworks exploded above them. Tillie's voice was hushed when she added, "I'm not the only following you, Cammie."

As she said that I noticed a man on a blanket a few yards from us. Unlike everyone else around him, he wasn't gazing at the colors in the sky. Instead, he was looking in a shop window where Tillie and my reflections could be seen. Suddenly, he stood up and gathered his things before walking off.

My eyes shot back to Tillie's face. To anyone else she might have seemed preoccupied with the celebrations going on around her but I could tell that she was scoping the crowd. Looking for other agents. I wondered as I did when I was a little girl, what was so frightening about Matilda Henderson?

I remember how when I was seven, Tillie came over to watch me for the weekend while my parents went on another mission. That was first time she was going to babysit me and when she walked in, I saw my mom visibly stiffen. My dad whispered something in her ear to get her to relax but my mom kept shooting glances at Tillie. Over the years, Mom got more comfortable around Tillie but every once in a while she would get this wary look on her face. Almost as if there was something she didn't trust about Tillie.

When I looked at Tillie, I saw the everyday girl-next-door. She was of average height, had brown hair and eyes, and wasn't a stunning beauty. Before I went to Gallagher, I considered her one of my closest companions despite the fact that her visits came less and less often as I got older. I would never describe her as threatening. But apparently others saw her as such. "Tillie," I said, drawing her attention back to me. "What are you doing here? Really?"

She sighed. "I'm your new protection detail. And we need to move."