Hi friends! This is my first ever LJ Smith fic! Or, rather, this is my first fic that ISN'T Harry Potter! Yay! I came up with this idea a long time ago but I never took the time to write it down. I hope you all like it!

1 Chapter 1

Amber Locke walked down the hall. Her best friends, Skye and Maggie, were talking to her. Skye asked, "So, Amber, are you going to Josh Rickson's party on Friday?"

Amber shrugged, "Probably. I've got to ask my parents."

Skye and Maggie nodded. They got to the cafeteria. Several people greeted them. If you want to be superficial, you could say the three of them were part of the "popular" clique. Especially Amber. With her beautiful, long, gold hair and her deep green eyes, she could win just about anyone over. She had a great personality too.

Skye Carlson had been Amber's best friend since the third grade. Amber and the courageous, loud redhead had become friends instantly. (In case you didn't get this from the last sentence, Skye had red hair and light brown eyes). And even in their junior year, they were still great friends.

Maggie Famheth had become friends with them in the seventh grade. Once again, it had been an instant friendship. Maggie was a little more boy- crazy than the rest of them. She had brown hair and blue eyes. She added even more variety to their little group.

Maggie asked, "Do you guys want to eat outside today?"

Amber and Skye both said, "Sure." They all got their lunches. They were about to head outside when Amber caught the others by the arms.

Maggie and Skye both asked, "What?"

Amber asked, "Is it just me, or is there a GORGEOUS guy over there?" The other two looked over. They saw the most beautiful guy any of them had ever seen. He had light blonde hair so light that it almost looked white. His amazing blue eyes stood out, even from all the way across the cafeteria.

Maggie exclaimed, "Whoa! What a hottie!"

Skye said, "Sorry to disappoint you, Maggie, but I think he's staring at Amber."

Maggie sighed, "So what else is new? The grass is green, the sky is blue, gorgeous guys are staring at Amber…" Skye grinned at Maggie. Amber didn't even notice. She was too busy staring back at the light haired guy.

Skye snapped in her face, "Amber! You JUST broke up with Paul. Remember Paul? Your boyfriend on and off all through high school?"

Amber looked at her for a minute and said, "Yeah. I actually did forget about him for a minute… But we're over now. He's been an ass lately." Amber walked over to the boy. He smiled at her. Her friends watched, admiring her courage.

"Hey," Amber said, "are you new here? I don't recognize you."

"Yeah, I'm new," the boy said. He had a nice, deep voice. "What's your name?"

"Amber Locke. You?"

"Julian Shadow." Julian Shadow. That was a cool name.

"So… do you want to eat lunch with me and my friends?"

"Sorry but I'm already sitting with someone." Amber frowned. She wasn't used to being refused.

"Oh…" He grinned.

"I could meet you after lunch. Maybe you could show me the way to room 315."

"315? That's where my next class is?"

"No kidding. Cool. Well, I'll see you in class then." Amber walked away smiling.

"So, how did it go?" Skye asked.

"Great. He seems really cool."

"What's his name?" Maggie asked.

"Julian Shadow."

"Where's he from?"

"Oh … I forgot to ask. I'll have to ask another time. Come on, let's go eat lunch."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amber waited for Julian impatiently outside of the cafeteria. No matter how hott this guy was, he wasn't going to make her late for class. She was turning to leave when she heard a voice.

"I thought you were going to show me the Mythology room." Amber turned around.

"I was waiting. You were just taking a while." He caught up with her.

"Sorry." The two of them started walking.

"So … where are you form anyway?"

"All kinds of places. I was last in New York."

"Oh, I know a lot of people who live there. Why did you move here?"

"My parents were just looking for a change of pace."

"Oh, the move must have been hard."

"No. It's nice to be back."

"You used to live in California?"

"A long time ago. But under some … BAD circumstances, I had to leave."

"Oh, that sucks. I've lived in California all my life."

"Do you like it?"

"Sure. It's really all I've ever known."

"Yeah. So… we're here, I guess." Amber was surprised that they were already at 315.

"I guess so. That was fast."

"Yeah." He started to head in the classroom. "I hope we'll be able to hang out more, Amber."

"I hope so too." She went into class grinning for ear to ear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amber closed the door of her house behind her. She yelled, "Mom! Dad! I'm home!!!" Her father came down the steps. Tom Locke was a tall man. Even though he was nearing forty, he was still very good-looking. He was very athletic. He had even played for the Lakers before he had retired and began to coach basketball. He grinned at Amber.

"Hello. How was your day today?"

"Great. I met the most gorgeous guy—" She noticed her father's look of disinterest. "That's probably something MOM would rather hear about." Tom smiled.

"Probably. How was cheerleading practice?"

"Good. Although I really wish Chrissie weren't on the squad. She keeps screwing things up."

"Well you WERE the one who put her on."

"I know. But I think she's losing her edge. Where's Mom?"

"She must be around here somewhere…"

"Did someone call me?" her mother asked. Amber grinned at her mom. Though Amber looked a little bit like her father, she could have been her mother, Jenny's, twin. Jenny's hair was a little darker than Amber's but Amber knew it had been exactly the same shade as her own when Jenny had been a teenager. And their eyes were the exact same shade of green.

"We were just wondering where you were," Amber said."

"Oh, I was just filling out some forms for the office." Amber's mom was a social worker.

"Oooh, fun," Amber said sarcastically.

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"I have a surprise for you. Someone came in to visit today."

"Really, who?" As if on cue, a woman came out of the kitchen.

"Really, Jenny, for being do damn rich, you don't have ANY good food."

"Aunt Dee!" Amber yelled. She ran and hugged her. Dee wasn't really her aunt but she was her mother's best friend and definitely like a mother to Amber.

"Don't knock me over child."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I had a little time off from the firm. I just finished the Polowsky case. So I decided to out and see how my friends were doing. Besides, I was planning on coming for Thanksgiving anyway. And that's only two weeks away."

"You were really able to get two weeks off?" Jenny asked.

"Well, it's MY law firm. I should be able to get two weeks off when I want it." She turned to Amber, "So, how's my niece who's not really my niece doing?" Amber smiled.

"I'm okay. I met a really cute guy today." Jenny and Dee both smiled.

"Oh really?" Jenny asked. Tom rolled his eyes.

"I think this is when I go upstairs and watch football."

"Oh fine," Dee said, "Be boring!" Tom grinned at them.

"See you all later, ladies."

"Anyway," Amber said, "he's new. He's from New York."

"Oh," Dee said, "just like me."

"Yeah, I thought of you when he told me. He's SO cute."

"What does he look like?" Jenny asked.

"He's tall. He has blue eyes and light blonde hair."

"Oh," Jenny said, sounding uneasy, "He does sound good-looking."

"He is."

"What's his name?" Dee asked.

"Julian Shadow." Jenny and Dee both raised their eyebrows.

"Mom, Aunt Dee," Amber said, looking at both of them, "are you okay?" Jenny and Dee both looked at her.

"We're fine," Jenny said. "It's just a coincidence…"

"What is?"

"Nothing, hon," Dee said. "Now be sweet and get us some coffee." Amber glanced back at her mother.

"Okay…" Amber went into the kitchen, wondering why her mother and Aunt Dee were acting so strange.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Don't worry about it," Dee said, "there are tons of boys with light hair named Julian in this world."

"I know," Jenny said, putting her face in her hands, "It's just so strange. And it brings back so many memories…"

"Listen, we all swore we'd forget about what happened. I mean, that was twenty-two years ago! It's all in the past now."

"I know…" Amber came in with three cups of coffee.

"Here it is." Jenny and Dee both smiled.

"Thank you, honey," Jenny said.

"No problem. Are you okay now, Mom?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what came over me."

"So," Amber said, "How's everyone over on the East Coast?"

"Oh," Dee said, "everyone's fine. You'll have to see Julie. She's grown so much. Getting to be kind of a brat, actually…"

"Dee!" Jenny exclaimed.

"It's true!" Dee said. "Zach and Summer spoil her way too much."

"You don't have kids," Jenny said. "You don't know how hard it is not to spoil them." Dee shrugged.

"Every magazine around wants Zach to take pictures for them. He doesn't really want to though. Magazines just aren't his thing. Summer's as happy as can be. I can't see how with all those little five-year old terrors she has to teach. What about our friends here?"

"Well," Jenny said, "Audrey and Michael are still trying for kids. It's not working, though. They don't seem to have enough time. Chic is really doing well." Chic was the name of Audrey's fashion business.

"I've heard. Aren't you wearing one of their shirts, Amber?"

"Yeah. Aunt Audrey gave it to me for free."

"Isn't it nice?" Jenny asked. Dee nodded boredly. She didn't really like talking about fashion. "And Michael's busy too. I can't believe he's already doing his second movie!"

"I know!" Amber said. "My friends are all amazed at the fact that I actually know Michael Cohen." She mocked, "He's, like, such a babe." Jenny and Dee both laughed. It was true though. Over the years, Michael had lost some weight and began to work out a little bit. He had become an extremely handsome man. Dee was shaking her head.

"It's still weird to me. Audrey and Michael must be one of the most famous couples around." Jenny and Amber both nodded in agreement. The phone rang. Jenny picked it up.

"Hello? Yes, hold on." She handed Amber the phone. "It's Skye." Amber took the phone and left the room. Dee looked after her.

"It's amazing. That kid looks so much mike you and yet you're nothing alike."

"I know. I think that came from growing up with you around." Dee grinned.

"Yeah. It's true she's a little more like me than you or Tom." Jenny smiled at her.

"I can't think of anyone I'd rather she was like."

"Aw, don't get all sappy on me, girl." Amber got off the phone and came back in. She was smiling brightly. "What do you look so happy about?"

"Skye saw Julian at soccer practice. He asked her to ask me if I'd go out with him! Isn't that great?"

"Sure," Jenny said, looking uneasy again. "Are you sure you want to? You just met him today?"

"It's just a date, Ma. If I don't like him, I don't have to go out with him again."

"Yeah," Dee said, "don't get over-protective." Jenny shot Dee an annoyed glance.

"All right. I know you can make your own decisions." Amber kissed Jenny on the cheek.

"Thanks, Mom. Well, I'm going to go to Skye's."

"All right, honey. See you later."

"Bye." Amber walked out the door. Jenny leaned back in her chair.

"Don't worry about it, sunshine."

"I know."

"It's just a coincidence." But was it?

Okay. I hope you like this! My first LJ Smith fic, scary. Make sure to R/R!