an: thanks for reading the first one! it makes me feel so great! :D

disclaimer: I do not own the boys. They own themselves. I also do not own the songs that start each chapter.

I'm tired of looking 'round rooms,

Wondering what I've got to do

Or who I'm supposed to be

I don't want to be anything other than me;

You're probably wondering about me.

Like, what's so good about me? Who am I? And what is up with my name?

Well, to tell you the truth, there's nothing special about me.

My best mate, Lauren, is the one who keeps me in line all the time, making sure I get up and to work on time. She's always making sure I have everything, and that I haven't lost my head.

She's the best person in my life—she's reliable and trustworthy, and she's always been there for me.

I love her to pieces for this, and many, many, many other, countless reasons.

Next question: who I am.

Well, my name is Adara Palmer, born 6 May 1986. I have light green eyes and sandy blonde hair, neither of which I got from my mum, the only person who raised me.

I've always loved writing; I got into it at a young age—six, to be exact.

My mum got me my first magazine at that age, and that was it, I was following every article, reading it, and then coming up with my own questions to ask my stuffed animals and Barbie dolls.

And while I was interviewing my toys, I would take little notes. Afterward, I would write everything up properly.

By the time I was ten, my mum had got us our first computer, and I was learning how to type everything that I wrote up on it, printing out my interviews once we got a printer, too.

It was always fun doing that.

Eventually, I moved away from my toys and onto my mates.

Lauren was the first person who agreed to let me interview her from the magazine I claimed was I was making—I wrote a few interviews and drew some pictures for my ads, planning on putting them together and making a book out of them.

After I interviewed her, I wrote up my interview and showed it to her. She loved it. Told me I was better than the professionals. That made me really happy.

She then declared that she would help me with my magazine. She would draw up the ads, and I would write the interviews.

We called it 'LoDare' and it was a success. Almost everyone in our class wanted one by the time we got it done. It was so exciting.

Mum had to get it photocopied—before Lauren coloured the pictures—so we could get enough copies easily.

It was the most fun I'd ever had writing. I loved it.

I was able to interview more and more classmates for the magazine as time went on.

Lauren and I enlisted a few more people, mainly to help with the ads. I was always on writing, no one ever joined me. I didn't mind, I loved writing.

LoDare ended after about two years and eighteen volumes had been made; when we were eleven.

It was fun, but it was time to move on to bigger and better things.

The thing with LoDare was that when it ended, it turned out that I had decided to go into writing in College, and Lauren decided she wanted to go into Art—drawing, in particular.

It was pretty cool that we both realized what we wanted to do together with the help of a magazine that we started together.

So, when we got to College years later, that's what we did—Lo went into the Art programs; I went into English programs.

Now, she works in a Studio next door, and I work at a magazine a half-hour train ride away—but I don't mind. We are following our dreams, making them come true.

All right, next question: my name.

Before I was born, before anyone knew I was going to exist, my father left my mum.

No, he didn't walk away from a marriage. No, he didn't hook up with her for a one-night-stand.

He disappeared. He was never seen again.

Mum still claims she doesn't have a clue what happened to him. I don't know if I should believe her or not, it's really a confusing matter.

She claims they were in love and were planning on getting married, not that they were engaged or anything like that, though.

When mum found out she was pregnant with me, she made a tough decision and decided to keep me, for two reasons: she was against killing anyone, even unborn babies; and she wanted to always have a piece of the man she loved and would never forget—Jackson Bright.

Jackson Bright, he was the man who had sandy blonde hair and light green eyes. He also had a big nose and big ears.

Mum always said I was lucky—I got each of their best features.

I got my mum's nose, ears, and height—along with her small frame. And from my father, I got his eyes, hair, and lips. Oh, and you can't forget my mind—my scatterbrain; apparently, I got that from him, too.

Months later, when I was—finally—born, Mum couldn't decide on a name for me.

One day, when mum was asked if she had any ideas towards what my name would be, all she told them was, "She's my dream come true."

People then started called me Dream.

Finally, when I was almost a month old, mum decided on the perfect name for me—Adara, meaning 'one who is beautiful' in Greek.

I still don't exactly know where she came up with the name, but it's more the fact that she came up with it that matters—and that I'm not Dream, still.

Of course, I'm still called Dream, just not so much anymore.

The name Dare came from my name; and also from my scatterbrain, not really thinking before I did things.

When we would play truth or dare, I would usually always pick dare, without thinking first. My mates figured this out after a few games and would come up with stuff that most people wouldn't even think twice about before refusing.

I never turned down a dare. Never.

One time, when we were at the ocean, there was this cliff overlooking it. It was blocked off, so no one would go over.

Well, guess what my mates did.

They dared me to jump over.

And what did I do?

I agreed to it. Stripping down to my bikini, I jumped off the cliff.

Not the smartest idea ever. I ended up breaking my leg, as the water below was quite shallow.

But did that stop me from doing dares?

No, I still do dares when they occur.

But, I guess, that's just who I am; who I'll always be. And I don't want to be anyone other than me.

Adara, the barely 152 cm, green-eyed, blonde daredevil.

song: i don't want to be by gavin degraw

an: thanks for reading this! I promise the guys will appear soon, so hang in with me until it happens, okay? okay!

until later! xx