Disclaimer: Do not own Wesley Stromberg from Emblem3. I only own my two OC's.

1st A/N: First off, I want to say that today is MY BIRTHDAY(October 23rd)! I turned 19! Whoo! I feel so much older! XD Hah, just kidding. lol

But back to business. So, the beginning to this chapter is going to start off a little differently. Here's a small backstory on what I mean: Back when Nichelle and Seth were living in France, Nichelle had met this guy and was having this strange feeling that she had never felt before. Now, Nichelle has never been in love, so she had no clue what it felt like. Her and that guy had started talking, and they became fast friends. A week or two after that, Nichelle began having this sharp pain in her chest. This used to happen a lot when she was a little girl on her own planet when she would get extremely furious or very upset about something, but it never occurred again after she came to Earth. The pain would keep getting worse in her chest until her darker half took over her body(the powers that she has are cursed but her parents never got the chance to tell before they were killed along with their planet). She hasn't been angry or upset with anyone or anything, so she was confused as to why it was happening. After that incident, every time she would meet a new guy, the same thing would happen over and over again. So, Nichelle thought if she moved from France to the US, it wouldn't occur anymore.

Okay, so there's the backstory. I know it looks confusing, but bear with me because it was a little hard to explain. There will be a further explanation in the chapter.

I apologize that this sort of thing is happening very early in the story, especially in the second chapter, but this sort of thing will occur throughout the story.

So, now on to chapter 2. :)

I woke up from a peaceful dream a little after 5 in the morning to a sharp pain in my chest. I sat up in bed and clutched at my chest. Oh, no. Not again.

I quickly shot out of my bed and ran to my bathroom. Please, no. Not now. I shut the door in a hurry and looked at myself in the mirror. I saw my eyes starting to change colors, going back and forth from dark brown to piercing black. I felt my body beginning to shake, signaling that the darker side of me was starting to take over. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to control the transformation, but I wasn't strong enough this time. I felt the last bit of my resolve slipping away, until it was gone completely.

I finally opened my eyes and saw that they were piercing black in the mirror. This meant that my dark side had finally appeared after all this time. This was the side of me that I tried really hard to suppress, and now it, or rather she, is back. I couldn't do or say anything since she had now taken over my body.

I saw my lips moving, but it was not my voice that I heard speaking. It was a slightly deeper and darker tone than my own, but still sounded feminine. My dark side had a evil smirk on her face as she was talking.

"Look at yourself. Little Miss Nichelle. You think you're so pretty, but we all know you're not." Her smirk turned into a nasty sneer as she continued to say taunting things to me.

"You disgust me. You think that boy you met likes you? You think he wants to be your friend? Well, you're dead wrong. No one's ever going to like you, let alone love you. You're worthless. Useless. Ugly. Nobody cares about you. You're all alone. You were always alone, and you're always going to be alone." I felt tears in my eyes as I heard her say all these hurtful words to me. But I knew she wasn't finished 'cause that smirk of hers was back.

"You might as well give up now, Nichelle. You're never going to find somebody to love you. It's all a hopeless loss. You're better off by yourself." I could feel the tears rolling freely down my face. I was really hurt by everything she said. I shut my eyes, trying to block out her cruel and taunting words and horrid laughter at my pain and suffering. But I could still hear them.

I couldn't take the verbal abuse anymore, so I opened my eyes and glared at my dark self in the mirror. She stopped laughing when she saw my face, and I felt my resolve coming back, as I screamed at her in the mirror. She faded away from the mirror, and for the better part, my mind.

Once I was able to control my own body and mind again, my eyes were their normal dark brown color again. I glared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were red and puffy and my cheeks were stained with tear-streaks. In a fit of pain and anger, I yelled out again and punched my face in the mirror. I watched as the glass shattered, and the blood beginning to trickle down my fist.

I continued to glare at myself, then tears began to form in my eyes again. More tears spilled from the corners of my eyes, and my bottom lip started trembling.

I finally broke out into a loud sob that echoed throughout the room, and then sank down to the floor. Sobs continued to rack my body until I felt a pair of arms wrap around my form and pull me into a soft chest. I looked up through my teary gaze and saw Seth holding me gently.

He was always there whenever these breakdowns occurred. The first time it occurred, he had such a panicked look on his face that the only thing he could do was rub my back and tell me that everything was going to be alright. Since then, whenever I would have a breakdown, Seth would come in and hold me and say soothing words until I had calmed down. I know I'm the oldest, but during these times is when I feel like a small child again, and Seth is the only one to comfort me.

This time, he didn't say anything, and for that I was really grateful. We stayed in that same position for the next ten minutes, until my sobs turned into small sniffles.

I made a gesture to Seth that I wanted to get up, and he helped me stand up, then led me back to my bed.

I sat down and rubbed my face to get rid of the tears from my cheeks. I looked up at him when I was done and saw that he was holding a first-aid kit in his hands. I was wondering why he had that until I remembered that my knuckles were cut and bruised from the glass, and blood was still oozing out of them. I watched as Seth bent down in front of me to open the box and took out some bandages, gauze, tweezers, and some spray. He grabbed my hand and began working on it. I sat quietly, only making a few sounds here and there from the slight stinging pain on my knuckles.

Once Seth was done bandaging my hand, he placed the stuff back in the box and went to put it back in the bathroom cabinet. I had my head down when he left, but I lifted it to see a concerned, yet saddened expression on his face. He looked at me then opened his mouth to speak, but I held my hand up and stopped him. He closed his mouth and waited for me to talk.

"Don't. Not tonight," I told him with a slight crack in my voice.

"But, Elle-" He tried to speak, but I interrupted him.

"I said not tonight, Seth." He looked like he was going to protest again, but he stopped himself and nodded. He had his head down, but I could see a solemn look on his face.

I felt bad for making and seeing him so sad. I know he only wanted to help, but I needed to figure this out on my own. At least, for right now. So, I reached my hand up and cupped his cheek to make him look at me.

"Hey. Everything's going to be alright. 'Kay? We'll get through this...I'll get through this." I gave him a small smile, and stroked his cheek with my thumb. He returned the smile and leaned down to hug me.

"I love you, sis," he murmured against my shoulder.

"I love you, too, baby," I whispered back.

He pulled away gently, and I kissed his forehead softly. "Now go on back to bed. I'll see you later on in the morning, k?"

"Alright. Goodnight." He stepped away from my arms and headed for the door. "Night, baby."

Seth looked back and smiled at me then shut the door quietly. I waited until I heard his footsteps fade away, and then crawled back in bed. I laid there trying really hard to fall asleep. What happened earlier was the worst one I had ever had. I still don't know why it had occurred. I just hope it doesn't happen again.

After a few more minutes of mindless thinking, I finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

At around 10:30, I woke up feeling slightly better from my earlier outburst. I sat up in my bed, looking at my surroundings, wondering if anything was out of place. Everything seemed to be in check, but when I looked over towards my bathroom, I noticed that there was something shiny on the floor. I got up and went to my bathroom. I turned on the light and gasped when I saw broken shards of glass and puddles of blood on the floor. I looked up towards the mirror and saw cracks and blood on it as well.

I held up my hands and noticed that the right one had gauze wrapped around it. I slowly unwrapped the gauze and stared at the small cuts and bruises from when I punched the mirror last night. I wrapped it back in place and walked out of the bathroom. I stepped out of my room and went downstairs to the kitchen to get the broom, dustpan, some wet paper towels, and the cleaning supplies.

I went back upstairs to my room and began cleaning up all the broken glass and blood from the floor. I spent at least an hour making sure that the floor was glass-free. Once done, I set all the cleaning stuff aside in my bedroom, and went to remove the mirror from its place on the wall.

I could see my broken reflection in the mirror and recalled the horrifying event that occurred earlier in the morning. A cold chill ran down my spine since I could still feel the presence of my darker half. I started to feel tears welling up in my eyes when I recalled all the hurtful things she said to me. I forced myself to stop thinking about her and set the mirror down next to the broom.

I went back into the bathroom and straightened everything back up, and then grabbed the cleaning supplies while using my telekinesis to carry the mirror down, as well. Before I forgot, I made a mental note to myself to buy a new mirror.

As I walked downstairs to the kitchen, I noticed that Seth was sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal with the orange-haired girl I saw him in bed with last night. Seth looked up when he heard me come in and had donned a sheepish smile when I raised my eyebrow at him. I decided to not say anything and continued walking to put the stuff away. Once the supplies were back in their original spots, I went outside and carefully placed the broken mirror at the end of the driveway so that it would be picked up later.

I came back inside the house and saw that Seth and his new friend were still sitting in the kitchen. I went upstairs to my room and saw my phone flashing with new messages. After all that had happened throughout the night, I completely forgot that my phone was on silent.

So, I walked over to pick it up and noticed that there were five text messages and two voicemails. And all of them were from Wesley.

Oh, crap. I totally forgot all about him. I hope it wasn't something important that he needed to ask me. After I had that mental panic, I unlocked my phone and went to my texts. The first and second texts were Wesley telling me good morning and asking me how I slept. I ignored the second one because I didn't want to be reminded of that previous event. The other three messages after that put a soft smile on my face. He sounded so concerned since I never responded after his first two texts, and that's what made me smile. Because even though we only met just yesterday, it was sweet of him to be concerned and worried about me.

I didn't listen to his voicemails because I knew they would just be him worrying even more. So, I sent a quick text to him telling him that I was alright, and that I didn't hear or have my phone on me.

After I sent that, I went to take a quick shower, and then brushed my teeth and washed my face when I got out. Once done, I went back into my room to get dressed and checked my phone to see that Wes had text back.

It read:

Hey. I'm relieved that you're alright. :) I was a little worried that something had happened to you since you never answered. But anyway, text or call me if you want to do something fun today. ;) - Wes

Even though it was just me in the room, I tried to hide the smile that was trying to spread across my face.

I sent him my reply:

Hey. :) I'd love to hang out today. I'm done getting dressed, so you can come over now if you want, and we can leave once you get here. :) - Nichelle

His response came back in a few seconds:

Cool. I should be there in about 10 or 15 minutes. - Wes

I texted back a second later:

Alright. See you then. :) - Nichelle

Once I sent that, I went back downstairs to wait in the living room for Wes' arrival. I looked into the kitchen to see if Seth was still in there with the unnamed girl (he never introduced her to me, so I don't know what her name is), only to find a note on the table.

I set my keys down and picked up the note and read it quickly.

Hey, sis. I know you don't want to be bothered after what happened, so I decided to leave and took Blossom with me. I don't know when I'll be back, so don't wait up for me tonight. Later. :D

Love ya,

Seth

Hmm. So her name was Blossom? Interesting. I finished reading and folded the note to put it in my pocket. I walked back into the living room right as the doorbell rang. I checked myself in the mirror to see if anything was out of place. I had on an off-the-shoulder purple top, a vested hoodie, dark blue skinny jeans, and purple high-tops. After I finished making sure that I looked somewhat presentable, I went to the door and opened it.

There stood Wesley, in all his handsome glory. My eyes glanced over his form, and I saw that he was wearing a short-sleeved dark blue shirt, kaki-shorts and black Vans. His hair was swept to the side but hung a little in his face. A small smile was forming on his lips, and I could see two tiny dimples popping when he did that. He had his hands in his pockets and was leaning against the door frame with his eyes cast down, so when he looked up at me, his smile grew.

"Hey." There was a slight twinkle in his eye when he greeted me, and I couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy at the way he was looking at me.

"Hey, yourself." I smiled back and stepped to the side to let him in. "You can come in. Let me get my keys, and then we can leave."

He nodded and walked in, as I shut the door behind him. Wes stood in the hallway, while I grabbed my keys off the kitchen table. I came back to find Wes still standing in the same spot that I had left him in. I walked up to him and smiled.

"Alright. I'm ready." He smiled back at me and opened the front door.

We both walked out, and I shut and looked the door. Wes already had the passenger door opened, so I got in with a "thanks", and he shut it afterwards. He walked over to the driver's side and got in, as well. Wes started the car and pulled out of the driveway, then took off fast down the road.

It was quiet for a few minutes before I turned to him and started to talk. "So. Where are we headed to first?" I asked him curiously.

He turned his head slightly my way, with his eyes still focused on the road, but I could see a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "It's a place everyone dreams of going to when they come to California." I raised my eyebrow at him, not fully understanding what he meant until I looked out my window to the sign that we passed by.

My eyes widened in shock and surprise when I realized that we were on our way to Hollywood. I've only heard of Hollywood a few times when I lived in France, and I heard such wonderful things about it.

I broke out into a huge smile and grabbed his hand tightly in my left one. He looked at me in slight shock, then broke out into a smile himself and intertwined his fingers with mine.

I can't wait to see what Hollywood looks like in person. I hope it's going to be like everyone said it was.

So, with that. Hollywood, here we come!

2nd A/N: Alright, well, that's the end of this chapter. Sorry if the ending seemed kind of rushed. I had to improvise. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it. :)

Also. At the end and beginning of each chapter, I am going to be adding quotes that either come from movies/TV shows, books, people, songs, etc. Most of them might be from songs, but all the quotes may or may not go along with the chapter. Some of the quotes might repeat because they will actually follow along with the chapter.

So, here's the first and second quotes:

"Baby I will wait for you. If you think I'm fine, it just ain't true. I really need you in my life. No matter what I have to do, I'll wait for you." - Wait For You by Elliott Yamin

"I'm a strong person. But every now and then I would like someone to take my hand and say everything will be alright." - Anonymous

Anyway, there's the chapter. Don't forget to review. ;D

Also, if you could please do the poll that's on my profile. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks. :)

Oh, before I forget, when I said in the first chapter that I will be posting this story whenever events occur in Hero's Rewards, I'm going to be changing that. So, now it's going to be when I post chapters to this story, Hero's Rewards will be updated sometime after.

Sorry that this second note is so long. I had a lot of things to say that I forgot to mention.

But anyway, I'll stop talking so you guys can review.

Peace out.

Jazz.