A/N - Hey! This chapter will appear to be O/C, but is vital to the story.
Elly Frost - THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! It means a lot. :)
Eighteen year-old Khione Riley stepped out of the slightly cold weather (Haha, get it? Nevermind...) and into West Manhattan High School, only to find her best friend waiting for her, arms crossed. Manda Delaria was a girl who looked like a model for a goth-punk magazine. She had dyed dark Ariel-red hair that was cut purposely short and uneven and sharp grey eyes, a black-and-white striped t-shirt that said Sorry, But Barbie's Funeral Was 50 Years Ago, ripped jeans with Sharpie stains, a pair of dark purple knee-high converse, a leather spiked bracelet, and dark red suare-rimmed glasses. She never wore make-up, and rarely smiled. This was not one of her smiling days.
"Khione," she muttered as her best friend stepped up to her. "How's the parents doing?" Not that she really cared, but this was part of their daily routine. Khione sent a glance her way with her icy-blue eyes,smiling faintly at her through her long, straight black hair. "Being themselves. Mother's cold has been fading. Father has been...Father." Manda threw a pointed look at her. "And...the dreams?" This question was not part of the routine, but it was a question she'd been asking for eight out of twelve of the years she'd known Khione, which was when she'd been adopted and moved here from Ireland. It had first been noticed by Manda the night of their first slumber party at age ten.
Khione sighed. She remembered what Manda had said the first time she heard her talk in her sleep. She said Khione had been saying one word over and over: Arty. No one had a clue what that meant. A doctor had once said it may have been something or someone she'd known before she was adopted. But, unfortunately, when she'd been wondering the streets lost at age six, she'd been brought to the orphanage with a case of permanent amnesia. Sometimes, when no one was around and Khione was sure they wouldn't be for a long while, even now, she would cry herself to sleep or until it hurt, trying to remember who her real family was. Sometimes she had dreams about a little boy and her, walking around or reading. They would talk about everything together, secrets included. She felt as if she should have known him easily, but couldn't.
"Haven't changed," Khione muttered, pulling her friend down the hall. Manda nodded, smlie still not appearing as her boyfriend walked over to the girls. Jake Evans was a boy you'd never expect to be the boyfriend of Manda Delaria. He had caramel-chocolate brown hair and light green eyes. He was cheerful and had a sense of humor that could kill a clown out of his own shame. He wasn't pale like the girls, but wasn't tan either. He never wore black, because it was a 'bring-down color', as he put it. "Hey, Icy, why the frown?" Icy was the nickname he'd given Khione because of her eyes, which were an icy blue, as said before. Of course, he didn't ask Manda, because she was always frowning.
"And you, Mandy. You need to start smiling. It's good for you." A small, but visible, smile danced on the corners of Manda's mouth. "Shut up," she said, punching his arm playfully. Jake grinned. Come on guys," He said, taking Manda's hand and putting an arm around Khione's shoulder, "we're gonna be late for class." Khione still thought hard about her dreams as she was led away. She was already very, very smart. A genius in fact. Even if she didn't pay attention in class, she wasn't learning anything new. So, she spent all of her classes that day thinking about one word - "Arty." If only she knew this word would mean a whole lot more in two days time. More than something she could feel she already knew. Something no scientist or genius could have predicted.