Snowbear96: hugs Anna too Glad you like!

Troo: Thank you. It's a very deep way to begin a fanfiction. Haha.

Demolished-soul: Aw, thank you! I can't wait to write it!

Summertales: Thank you. smiles

sparkyCSI: Thanks, and I hope that it will be a long story too!

Thanks for the input everyone! It's really helpful. I am glad that you enjoyed the first chapter. I know it may have been a tad rambly at points, but I am so glad you all liked it. Anyway, Anna's life wasn't the easiest, and I can't jump right into adding the New York characters to the mix—not yet anyway. First, let's take a journey into Anna's childhood, shall we? Read and review: that's an order! Lyrics and title belong to the wonderful creators of the musical "Jekyll and Hyde".

Chapter 1: Someone Like You

But if someone like you found someone like me,

Then suddenly, nothing would ever be the same

My heart would take wing, and I'd feel so alive

If someone like you found me.

That was always the prayer of my childhood, of my adolescence. I would cry many nights for someone to come and find me, a friend, and in my adolescence; I prayed for love, a love to come along and take me away. Of course, I found my love later on in life, but when I was younger, I didn't have that love. The closest two things that I had to me were taken away: my mother and Elizabeth.

A feisty red-haired ten-year old looked scathingly down at the ground, dark eyes fixed on a young boy who was scrambling to his feet, clutching a bloody nose.

"And if you ever make fun of Anna again, I'll hit you harder!" the young girl yelled at the retreating back of Jimmy Finch. The young girl brushed her hands on the side of her polka-dot dress and walked over to where I was sitting, tears clinging to my eyelashes. Elizabeth put her arms around my shoulders and I sniffled.

"It's alright Anna, he's gone," my best friend assured me. I looked up at her smiling face. "I decked him good this time. You should have seen him run away like a little sissy." I laughed, and furiously wiped away the last of my tears. Jimmy Finch wasn't really all that bad, but he teased me constantly, pushing me out of line and calling me names. But when Elizabeth, a tough girl from New York, moved down to Miami, she befriended me. I had always wondered why. Elizabeth was self-dependent, unique, and able to hold her own against anyone; male or female. I, on the other hand, was a complete wimp, letting people push me around without so much as a whisper in my defense. Elizabeth taught me early in life to stand up for myself, and if I couldn't, to find someone who would stand up for me.

And that's how it went throughout elementary school: Elizabeth and Anna—the inseparable. I was book-smart, and she was street-smart. I was the one who tutored her in science and she was the one who tutored me in life. Her house always had cookies and mine always had milk, so we would take both necessities and meet at the park between our apartments. We were the dynamic duo, and always would be.

And then, there was my other love: my mother. My mother was a quiet, yet hard-working woman with soft dark curls falling gracefully below her shoulders. Her eyes were gray, but she claimed that they would change colors with her mood. Ever since I was young, my mother would read and sing to me. That was where my obsessions began: books and music. I told my mother when I was four that I wanted to be a doctor. The next day, as we ate dinner, I told her that I wanted to be a painter. As we drove in the car to pre-school, I told her that I wanted to be a scientist. We pulled up to a red light and she looked in the rearview mirror at me and said: Sweetheart, you can be whatever you want to be, just love what you do.

I will never forget her words, ever. Those words are what shaped me into just who I am today, an ex-CSI, ex-teacher sitting on her porch swing. She encouraged me to do anything with my life, as long as I loved what I was doing. I never used her words as an excuse to do drugs, because it "felt good." To me, that was just plain abuse, an atrocity of my mother's wishes for my life. Anything I wanna be Mamma? My green eyes were wide from the backseat and I stared at her curiously. My darling, if you want to fly to the moon, if you want to paint the sky, or if you want to be a dog groomer, you do it. I will support you no matter what you do. My mother's voice was sincere, and she smiled at me from the front seat. Years later, she held onto her promise of supporting me. I would spend nights at Elizabeth's house, sprawled out on my sleeping bag on her floor, wondering if my mother promised as she did because she regretted her life.

My mother had me when she was seventeen. I never knew my father, mainly because he wanted nothing to do with me. He had tried to convince my mother to give me up for adoption, but Mamma had insisted on keeping me.

"You can't take care of a baby, you're only a baby yourself!" he spat at Gina. Gina stared at him, eyes narrowed.

"I will take care of this child, and I will raise her to be a wonderful young woman. You'll see," she hissed. Jack took one more look at his girlfriend.

"I want nothing to do with this child. You wanna keep her, then you keep her," he retorted, before storming out of the house.

Jack, my father, never came around. Mamma never spoke of him. I never asked. I knew that it was painful for her, so I just let it be.

Pain and hurt followed me around though. A few weeks into my fourth grade year, Elizabeth slipped me a note during history class.

I'm moving.

My eyes widened, and my mouth felt dry. No. Elizabeth couldn't leave me. There had to be some mistake, some huge mistake. Elizabeth was my best friend. She was like a sister I never had. She was the reason that I enjoyed coming to school, probably the only true friend that I had in elementary school. I scribbled back.

What? When? Where?

Elizabeth looked sadly at the paper and scrawled her answer back in her hot pink gel pen.

My daddy got a job in Texas. We're leaving soon. I dunno how soon. I'm sorry.

I read the note, lump forming in my throat. I choked back my tears and looked over across the aisle to Elizabeth. My best friend stared back at me, face filled with sadness.

Can I still come over tonite?

Elizabeth smiled and wrote down her answer.

Duh.

I managed a smile as I read Elizabeth's answer. I wrote back once more.

BFF?

Elizabeth scribbled on her paper and tossed it back to me, a wide grin on her face.

ALWAYS. See ya at 7.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I sat at the foot of Elizabeth's bed, playing with her favorite doll, as I combed its hair slowly.

Elizabeth flopped down on her bed and studied me for a moment. "You'll always be my friend, right?"

I looked up, a shocked expression on my face. "Of course!" I cried. "Once a BFF, always a BFF," I replied solemnly. Elizabeth smiled and hugged me.

"I love you Anna," she said with tears forming in her eyes. "I'm gonna die in Texas."

I smiled sadly and hugged back. "You won't die. Maybe I can hide in your suitcase," I suggested. That caused us both to giggle. We soon turned our attention to the television set in Elizabeth's room. A knock was heard at the door of her bedroom, and in came Elizabeth's mother, a terrified expression on her face.

"Anna, sweetheart…" she began. We both looked up. "…that was the phone…for you…it's about your mommy," she began slowly, trying hard to conceal a façade. I sat up abruptly.

"What is it?" I asked.

"…she passed away."

Well, you all knew that was coming. Sorry about the abrupt ending, but I have to go to work! Ahhh. Haha. Anyway, review please!