A/N: wow. This is one loooooooooooooooong story! I'll try to post the rest ASAP. It's done, but I have to type it!!!!! This isn't NEARLY as long as it's going to be. Trust me, it'll be long. Hehe… hope you like!

GRAYCEE

BRIIING!

Yes! Finally, school was totally over for the summer. No more school for three months.

I leapt out of my seat, along with the other Juniors (now Seniors) and fought towards the exit. Freedom. I needed freedom.

"Hey, watch it!" a guy next to me said. "I wanna get out of here just as much as you do!"

"Sorry," I said, only half sincere.

"Watch where you're going," he said, cutting in front of me and going out the door.

I dashed to my locker as fast as I could with a sea of people that all seemed to be going the other way. When I got there, I whipped out my jacket and bookbag. I quickly tied my windbreaker to my waist, slung the backpack over my shoulder, and went outside. There, kids were sitting on benches, the curb, or just standing around, all waiting for rides. I walked over to my stepsister, Ania.

I was still getting a little used to having a sister. My biological parents put me in a foster home at fourteen since they couldn't afford to care for me. I never really resented that. I knew they had to do what they had to do. I stayed there for two years, and then last year at sixteen, Ania's parents adopted me.

"Hey, Grace," she said. "When are mom and dad picking us up?"

"I was just about to ask you the same question," I answered.

"Ugh," she muttered. "If they would get us a car, we wouldn't have this problem day after day."

"Yeah," I agreed, pulling out my cell phone. "I'll call mom." I called, and she said that she was unable to pick us up any time soon. The soonest she could make it was in two and a half hours. "You'll have to hang tight," she said.

I sighed. "Pick us up at the mall," I decided. "We'll meet you at the East entrance."

"OK. Have fun, sweetie."

Don't you hate it when your parents call you sweetie? It makes me feel like a little kid. "Yeah. Later."

"Bye!"

"Mall?" Ania asked as I put my cell phone back in my bag.

"Yeah. You up for it?'

"Um, not really. I'm thinking I'll stay here for a little while. I'll be at the mall when it's time to meet mom, though. Don't worry. Is that OK?"

I wasn't worried, but I was a little disappointed. I'm a social person. I always like to be around people I know. And shopping by yourself isn't that much fun, anyway. Even for introverts.

"Sure," I said. "Do what you want. I'll see if I can get someone else to come with me."

"Sorry, Graycee. I'll see you later, K?"

"Yeah. See you there." I turned and looked around for someone I knew. I didn't find any of my close friends, so I'd just have to improvise.

I noticed a girl looking pouty sitting on a bench. I recognized her as Scot. Her real name was Lauria, but she was from Scotland and still had a small Scottish accent, so everyone called her Scot for short. She was pretty popular, but it's not like that was going to stop me from inviting her to go shopping with me.

"Hi," I said, sitting down beside her. Her head turned to reveal a totally gorgeous complexion. I wished I looked like her.

"Hi," she said slowly. "Um… who are you?"

"Graycee. You're Scot, right?"

"Yes."

"You don't look too happy to see summer vacation."

"Summer vacation isn't the problem. It's my father. He isn't picking me up for another three hours. I don't know what I'm going to do until then."

Woah, I thought. Talk about a coincidence! And she just-so-happened to be the first person I approached, too.

"Well, uh, do you want to come to the mall with me?"

Scot paused, then shrugged and got up. "It beats sitting here."

So off we went. We walked around in the mall to nowhere in particular for a little while, just getting to know each other. Then we started going into shops. We went to Ambercrombie and Fitch first.

I don't know how, but we ended up splitting up. We were going to meet at the cash registers when we were done shopping there.

"Hey, Graycee," someone said while I was looking through the khakis. I turned and almost fell over. There stood Andy Crow. He wasn't the most popular guy at school, but not the least popular, either. And wow he was cute… really cute.

"Hi," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"In my words, getting clothes. In my dad's words, maxing out his credit card."

I smiled. "I know how that goes."

"Do you wanna go to the food court and get something to eat?"

I shrugged. "Sure. But I have to check with Scot first."

Andy looked slightly disappointed. "Is that your boyfriend?"

"No!" I said quickly. "No, Scot. You know, the Scottish girl? Lauria?"

He looked relieved. "Oh, yeah. I know Scot."

Forget the pants, I thought. It'd just be more to carry. "We can see if she's checking out yet, if you want."

"OK. Sure."

Luckily, she was checking out. We walked out of there, each of us carrying a big Ambercrombie bag. All three belonged to Scot, who'd just spent more than three-hundred dollars in one store. If I had to describe her in one word, it'd be "rich."

We went to the food court and ordered our food. We sat down and made small talk while we waited for our number to be called. When it was, Andy got up and left to pick it up. Then a guy came up by me and Lauria while he was gone and sat down in his chair.

"Hey, ladies," he said. He was kinda cute I guess… I don't really care for the whole Leonardo DiCaprio look, but if you're into blonds he's probably a good bet. But me myself, I like my guys tall, dark, and handsome.

Scot smiled. "Hey, Greg. What are you doing?"

"The mall is dangerous on Fridays," he answered. "I think you need a male escort."

"That's sweet, but we already have one," I said. "You'll have to wait on the list."

He turned to me and cocked an eyebrow. "Who asked you?"

"Hi," Andy said, walking up with the food. It didn't sound the friendliest.

Greg turned and looked up. "I know you," he said. "What is it… Aaron?"

"Andy," he answered.

"Right. I'm-"

"Greg."

There seemed to be tension between them. They were obviously not friends, that's for sure.

Andy looked at me and Scot. "Do you guys want this food to go?"

"Sure," I said, standing up. Scot did the same.

"Oh, well, I'm peachy," Greg said, standing as well. "You guys are one guy short of a double date." He winked at Scot.

"Tempting offer," she said. "But-"

Wham! I was totally knocked over by the impact of someone running into me. I fell into Greg, and we ended up being a heap on the floor.

The person quickly helped us up. When I got up I almost fell back over, because there stood Ania.

"Ania?" I demanded. "What are you-"

"Run!" she said. "All of you! Now!" She took off and us four bolted after her.

"Why are we-" Greg began. He was interrupted by the sound of gunshots behind us. "Never mind," he muttered.

"But why are they shooting at us?" I wondered.

" 'Cause I blew up their car," Greg answered. I cocked an eyebrow. "Gone in Sixty Seconds," he explained. "Good movie."

We ran out of the mall and into an ally way. "I think we lost 'em," Andy said, panting.

"But who's "them?"" Scot wondered. We all turned to Ania for the answer.

"I don't have time to explain," she said. "My days are numbered. I have to get out of here." She gave me a hug. "Make me a promise?" she asked, clearly troubled.

"Yeah," I said. "Sure."

"Find me. Save me. You have to. Promise?"

"Where will you be?"

Ania released me and stepped away. "Promise you'll save me?"

I nodded slowly. "OK. Sure."

She looked at Andy, Greg, and Scot. "Help her. Your reward will be great." And suddenly, she was gone. Totally. I didn't even see her when she disappeared. It was in the middle of my blink. Close, open, there. Close, open, not there.

"What was that all about?" Andy wondered.

Greg looked at me. "Who was that and why did she hug you?" he demanded.

"My stepsister, Ania."

"Is she always asking you and your friends to save her and being chased by people shooting at her or is this some kind of holiday?"

"No, she's usually pretty normal."

"Oh, OK. In that case- WHAT'S GOING ON?!?"

WOOSH! Everything went white. Then black.

A/N: Is it worth continuing? Please let me know!