Lol! What do ya know, two chapters in one day! XD Well I finished this one just minutes ago, and I really liked it. :3 So enjoy another chapter, because soon enough I'll probably become stumped. LOL

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With extreme luck that I never knew I could have, I arrived at the Thriftway without any panic attacks, and I was grateful for that. Nothing I hated more then to cause stares when I fall down on the sidewalk, screaming.

I stepped in through the sliding glass doors, the sound of the wind rushing past me replaced by 70s music.

Grabbing a grocery cart, I walked down the aisles, randomly tossing things into the cart when I remembered that we were running low on something. Most of it though was just things that I could eat and not gag from how horrible it would taste. Like, anything that was made with Splenda instead of actual sugar.

I was looking at some sugar-free gum when I felt something bump into my leg. Confused, I looked down and blinked, then smiled.

It was the Newton's kid. He wasn't really that old, probably only three at the least.

He stood up from the ground and grabbed the chocolate bar he had before looking up to me with one of his bright smiles, a front tooth missing.

"Hi Chairty!" (A/N: I spelled it like that so it didn't sound like an 'r' instead of 'chair') He said, pronouncing my name wrong.

I laughed a little. "Hey yourself, Johnny." I said and knelt down to look at him better.

"Where's your mom?"

"She says I can have a candy!" He told me in excitement, and I couldn't help but feel the twinge of envy I felt that he could have any candy he wanted without having to risk death.

"That's great!" I said in a happy tone, hiding away my sadness. "Just don't eat it too fast, or else it'll be gone before you know it."

He nodded his head quickly until we were interrupted by a panicked voice saying, "Johnathan! Where have you been?!"

Jessica Newton, one of Mom's old fellow high school students, rushed over and picked up little Johnny.

"Mo-ommy!" Johnny said, dragging out the 'o'. "You says I could have candy!"

"I know, but you… were taking too long." I knew what she was referring to, especially when she glanced to me from the corner of her eye. "Charity,"

"Mrs. Newton," I replied, nodding my head slightly. She didn't say anything else as she briskly walked off, still holding Johnny.

He leaned over her shoulder and waved at me wildly, candy bar still in handy. "Bye Chairty!"

I smiled to him and waved back, sighing when they were out of sight. Why Mr. Newton married such a shrewd I'll never know…

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I walked back home with the bag of food in my hand, pushing the door open with my left shoulder.

"Mom! I'm home!" I noticed that Jacob wasn't on the couch, watching TV, so he must've gone home.

"In the kitchen dear," I heard her call, and I walked in, putting the bag on the table. "How was the store?"

"Fine," I pulled out the items and put them away in their respectable places, tossing the plastic bag away.

I went upstairs later to do some homework, since it was Monday tomorrow. And when it was time for dinner I came back downstairs to see Mom making some vegetable stew, minus the chicken broth. So technically it was just veggies cooked in hot water.

I sat down at the table as she gave me a bowl, getting her own dinner and sitting across from me.

We ate silently for a while, the only noise coming from our utensils when they clinked on the bowls when we set them down.

"… So I heard there's a new family here…" Mom said after a long silence, not looking up from her dinner. It wasn't surprising that she heard about it, seeing as this town is so small.

I shrugged my shoulders, saying, "Yeah, they're getting a lot of attention at school. It's always a big deal when we have new students or something."

"Hmm…"

We fell back into the silence, and I stood up when I was done, putting my bowl in the sink. "I'm gonna take a bath and go to bed, ok?" I said as I made my way to the bathroom.

"Alright, night honey!" I heard her say just before I closed the door, choosing this time to go without the ice and turning it on as cold as it could get.

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School the next day started out fair enough.

I hadn't had a panic attack at all when a squirrel had jumped out from a nearby bush and darted by in front of me, so that was lucky.

In Biology, I kept my eyes right on the blackboard, trying my absolute hardest to pay attention. Of course I started to doze off when I realized that I had apparently studied farther then I had to, seeing as I was trying to get my mind away from disturbing thoughts.

I got woken up, however, when I felt something fall on the back of my hand. I lifted my head up slightly to see a crumpled up piece of paper that was resting right in the middle of my knuckles.

Curiosity got the better of me, and I picked it up, unfolding it under the desk so Mr. Stuart wouldn't see it.

Outside of the cafeteria after lunch, 1:00 sharp.

Come alone.

I swallowed hard at the two simple sentences writing on the paper, the handwriting made everyone else's, especially my own, look as if a child had written it.

The style of handwriting almost looked like something from the early 1900s, and that sort of scared me.

Why would someone want to meet me, or all people? Wasn't everyone afraid they would catch my incurable disease, afraid to become as vulnerable as I was right now?

I looked up and around the room, yet no one was looking at me, not even Mr. Stuart. My eyes fell on the two new students, who were staring at the board with unreadable expressions.

I shook my head and sighed, stuffing the note into my pocket. Too strange…

Lunch soon came around, and I was fidgeting in my seat as I ate. I never looked over to where the new students sat, afraid that I would pass out like last time.

It was a tricky thing, too, not to look over there. At times I would catch myself unconsciously turning my head in that direction, but I was able to keep my eyes to my table.

Then I looked up at the clock. Five till.

I sighed heavily and stood up, dumping what was left of my lunch away, all except for my paper bag, which I put in my back pocket. Better safe then sorry, I always say.

I stepped outside into the chilly air that felt like heaven on my extremely warm skin. I found my eyes closing and taking a large breath of the air that smelled of rain and pine trees. The smell calmed my tense nerves, that is until I could hear the resonating sounds of footsteps coming from around the corner.

They were slow and deliberately loud, so that must've meant they were from an older student that knew not to make my heart go haywire.

It didn't matter, I could feel it pick up only the slightest, and that had me take a sharp intake of breath and for the footsteps to stop for a moment.

They started up again after a while, and I let my gaze drop to the ground as I leaned my back against the building's structure.

The steps got louder and louder, until they stopped and I could see a pair of black shoes in my line of sight, but I didn't look up. I was nervous to, I wasn't sure what I was asked to come here, or why I came here willingly in the first place. What if something horrible happened to me and Mom was left to fend for herself? She already suffered a broken heart once, I don't want to cause another one-

"Hello," A musical voice rang in my ears, cutting my thoughts off. I kept silent for a moment, the voice echoing in my head. It sounded as if they were singing, which didn't make sense. Who sings while they're talking?

I kept my gaze on the new pair of shoes as the unfamiliar voice continued when I didn't reply.

"My name is Jasper Hale, I'm one of your classmates." I blinked at that.

So… this was one of the new students. Ok, I got to keep my heart under control. I took in a deep breath and slowly lifted my head upward, trying to keep my breathing and heart beat under control.

If he was inhumanly beautiful before, he was even more now that we were about three feet apart.

His honey blond hair was spiked, sort of like his girlfriend's hair is like. His eyes were a strange shade of yellow, like a topaz, it made me blink a few times. Probably contacts.

I realized he was waiting for my respond, so I took another breath and said, "I-I'm Charity, Charity Swan."

His eyes seemed to widen slightly, but composed his face so quickly that I wasn't even sure if I saw right.

"Charlie Swan's daughter?" He asked.

I shook my head and smiled. "No, granddaughter."

He kept his face calm, but I could tell from his eyes that his was in utter shock. Ha, who would've thought that would be the big surprise? Wonder how he'll react when he gets the really big news…

At that moment the bell rang, and we both took a step away, him to the left, and me to the right. He looked to me as the students filed out of the cafeteria.

"I'll see you later, then," He murmured and walked off into the sea of kids, not giving me time to reply.

I stood there for a moment before sighing and going to my next class.

"Strange boy…"