Prologue - Ch1

Disclaimer: I do not, I repeat, I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for Hannah Blair, Mrs. Pallette, Toby, and some of the parentals. They all belong to Disney, and any other company that owns 'In a Heartbeat.' I was inspired to write this story from a movie that I saw a long time ago, though I can't remember the title. You'll just have to read and find out, and please review J

Initial Attraction

Prologue - Chapter 1

A long time ago, when everyone was around eight years old…

"Caitie! Caitie! Come here!" a little girl in blond called out.

"Just wait!" answered the brown-haired girl in pigtails.

"Caitie!" she called out again.

"Val, just wait, OK?" she cried. "What do you want anyway?"

"Come here!" she called out.

"Val, what are you doing?" Caitie asked

"A curse," Val answered innocently.

"What?" she exclaimed. "Are you nuts or something? Did Robbie Morrison hit you in the head again?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," Val convinced her. "Anyway, this isn't just any type of curse."

"Oh, I didn't know there were other types of curses," Caitie added humorously.

"Caitie!" she yelled exasperated.

"This curse will determine who will be our prince," Val began to explain. "The prince charming of our lives."

"Val, you watch too many Disney movies," Caitie told her.

"I do not!" she retorted.

"Then why are you going on and on about these prince charming stuff?" Caitie asked her.

"Because it's rom--…, roman--…," Val began to respond.

"Romantic?" said Caitie.

"Yea, romantic," said Val. "Can you do it with me. Please!!!"

"I don't like all that mushy stuff," Caitie replied, trying to find an excuse.

"Please!!!" Val pleaded while giving her the puppy dog eyes.

"OK, fine," Caitie finally agreed. "But only because you really wanted to do it."

"You're the best, Caitie," Val said before going back through her things.

"So, who should start?" Caitie asked.

"I will!" called out Val.

"How is this supposed to work?" Caitie asked.

"You get one box, and I get another one," explained Val. "Then, you write the things that you look for in your prince charming."

"Would you stop with that prince charming thing already!" Caitie told her.

"Then, when we grow up, only then will we be happy if we truly find this prince charming," Val said as she ignored Caitie's comments.

"OK, you start," Caitie spoke.

"OK," said Val. "First, he has to have blond hair and blue eyes like me. Second, he has to be taller than me because I don't want to be taller than him because that would just…"

"Val, hurry up already," Caitie said irritably.

"Third, he has to have the perfect smile," she continued. "Then, he has to be a gentlemen."

"Man," Caitie corrected.

"Gentleman," she stated. "Next, he has to be a sporty boy like Dad. And last, his first letters have to be T, P, and C because that stands for The Prince Charming."

"You're nuts," Caitie told her with a laugh.

"How rude!" Val exclaimed. "Now it's your turn."

"Do I have to?" Caitie asked in hopes of getting out of this.

"Yes," Val told her.

"Fine," she said. "Well, I don't know. This is hard."

"Hurry up, Caitie," Val told her.

"Just wait, Val," Caitie said. "I don't want him to be a goody-goody, but he has to be nice."

"Then write that down," Val said.

"Just wait, Val, OK?" Caitie said to Val in annoyance. "First, he has to be nice but not a goody-goody. Second, he has to be taller than me. Third, he has to have dark hair like me and brown eyes. Then, he also has to have the best smile. Next, he has to like cars and motor--…, motor--…"

"Motorcycles," Val butted in.

"Motorcycles," Caitie said. "Like my dad. And last, I don't know about his name."

"Hurry up, Caitie," Val told her again. "My mom's almost coming."

"Val, just wait!" Caitie told her. "Just wait! Just wait! Just wait!"

"Maybe that should be his name," Val said as an idea came to her.

"What?" Caitie asked.

"His name should have 'wait' in it since you say it too many times," Val told her friend.

"That's not fair," Caitie replied. "That's a stupid name."

"It could be his last name," Val told her.

"Then what about his other names?" Caitie asked again.

"Well, since you keep saying 'just' wait, his first name should start with J, while his second name should start with T," Val told Caitie.

"What about the U and the S?" Caitie inquired.

"I hate U's and S's," Val said. "Is that fine?"

"I hate them, too," Caitie informed her. "Where do we write this stuff?"

"On this paper," Val said as she handed her a piece of paper. "You write yours down, and I'll write mine."

Val wrote hers on the pink paper, while Caitie wrote hers on the blue.

Val

    1. blond hair and blue eyes
    2. taller than me
    3. perfect smile
    4. sporty like Dad
    5. gentalman
    6. T. P. C. - the prince charming

Caitie

    1. nice, but not a goody-goody
    2. taller than me
    3. dark hair like me and brown eyes
    4. like motorsycols and cars like my dad
    5. "Val, how do you spell 'wait'?" Caitie asked her.

      "I don't know," she said. "W-a-i-t-e?"

      "OK, thanks," Caitie told her.

    6. J. T. Waite

After they finished writing on the paper, they each put it in their own box.

"Caitie, do you have tape?" asked Val.

"I don't know," Caitie replied as she went to find her mom. "Mrs. Pallette!!! Do we have tape?"

"Mrs. Pallette!!!" followed Val. "Do you have a tape?"

"Caitlin Ava Roth and Valerie Anne Lanier, it's not lady-like to yell," she said.

"Sorry," they both said simultaneously while Caitie went towards her.

"Where's the tape?" Caitie asked.

"The sticky kind?" she asked.

"The sticky kind," Caitie said.

"Here you go honey," Mrs. Pallette said as she handed Caitie the tape.

"Thank you," she said.

Caitie ran back to the table and handed Val the tape.

"Here you go, Val," Caitie said.

"Thanks," Val said. "Now, we have to seal the boxes.

"Yay, fun," Caitie replied as the two of them cut out long strips of tape.

A few minutes later, the roll of tape rolled on the floor with no more tape left.

"So, how are we supposed to open this?" Caitie asked Val.

"I don't know," Val said as she and Caitie laughed.


As the two girls giggled and laughed, they were oblivious to the fact that two boys were listening to them intently.

"I believe in curses," Hank said.

"Hank, only girls believe in that stuff," Toby said.

"Well, I'm not a girl, so you must be wrong," Hank told his friend.

Toby became silent.

"So, do you believe in those stuff about who you'll marry?" Toby asked Hank.

"Do you want to know a secret?" Hank asked Toby.

"Of course," he said loud enough for the whole class to hear.

"You better promise not to tell anyone," Hank told him.

"I promise," he said

"I'm going to be married to a girl with the same first and last name as I do," Hank told Toby.

"You're marrying yourself?" Toby asked in shock, and once again with the whole class hearing them.

The room was filled with laughter.

"No, I'm not marrying myself," Hank whispered to Toby. "It's more like the first letter of her first name and the first letter of her last name is the same as I am."

"Cool," Toby said.

"But she has to be different," Hank added.

"How?" Toby asked.

"I don't know," Hank said as he drew a circle, with two H's and B's in them.

The teacher heard what they were all talking about, and just laughed silently to herself in amusement.


"Tyler, hurry up now honey," called Tyler's mom.

"I'm coming," Tyler said.

The Connells were on a camping trip, along with their next door neighbors, the Blairs. They were almost ready to leave.

"Hannah, do you believe in curses?" Tyler asked his friend. "You know, magic?"

"Not really" Hannah replied.

"Well, I do," Tyler said. "I should think of something that is almost impossible that probably would not happen."

"Like what?" asked Hannah

"What if I make a curse about the girl who I will live happily ever after with?" stated.

"You watch too many Disney movies," said Hannah.

"OK, so I should think of something impossible," Tyler began to speak again. "What about the letters of her names? Hmm, what if she has to have three names and the first letter of her three names would be her first name?"

"That would be weird," said Hannah.

"Well, it doesn't have to be her first name," added Tyler. "Maybe her nickname or something. Yea, that's it. That would be totally impossible."

As he made up his mind, he picked up a sharp stone and carved something on the tree beside him. It wasn't an easy task, but he managed to do it.

"There," he said as he finished carving it faintly on the tree.

The carvings stated: Me + ???

"You're very weird Tyler," said Hannah.

"Tyler Parker Connell, get here this instant," cried his mom.

"OK, Mom," he called out before picking up his stuff and leaving, with Hannah right behind him.


"Jamie!!!" called out Mrs. Waite as she looked for a dark-haired little boy in the playroom. "Oh, there you are?"

Jamie was riding on the little car simulator.

"Mom, can I stay for a few more minutes, please?" Jamie begged.

"Jamie, you've been here for 3 hours honey," said Mrs. Waite.

"But I love this car," Jamie said.

"I thought you love motorcycles," said Jamie's mother

"Can't I love both at the same time?" Jamie asked.

"No, you can only love one of them, honey," teased her mother.

"Fine, then I love cars," Jamie said.

"Jamie, honey, a car is only an object," Mrs. Waite said. "You can't marry a car."

"Well, I'm going to marry a car," Jamie smugly told his mother. "C-a-r. Car. And I'm going to have a motorcycle as well. And you can't stop me."

"Whatever you say, honey," said his amused mother. "Come on now, James Timothy Waite. We'll be late."

"Don't call me that," Jamie complained as he stood next to his mom.


I have to stop it right here…but I'll be back J ~ Scarlet182