So here's chapter one, I hope you enjoy. Please comment and review.

Summary: Quinn heads home years after the loss of her family at the age of five, with her adoptive family. She's determined to find the little girl that caused her to her tragedy all those years ago to become something filled with a moments worth of happiness and friendship.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but my errors.

Ps - The italics are the past and regular text the present and Quinn just speaking. Also, for Georgia and most of the souther story or stories, basically mean soaps or soap operas. Just a southern thing. Oh and how i depicted social services is quite dead on for georgia.

Chapter 1

That Summer:

Home

This would be the first time in years that I will visit my hometown; an idyllic southern urban on the seaside called Honeysuckle, Georgia. The town got its name from the vast amount of honeysuckles that would bloom in spring and stay until the bitter caress of winter. I remember picking buckets full of the tiny, fragrant flower and devouring its sweet nectar with other neighborhood kids, then being chastised for arriving just after the street lights lit the way home; who could have thought my last time there was when I was five, twelve years ago. It seems like the longest time, even more so when my happy childhood ended then and there.

For the first half of my summer, it was filled with loneliness, heartache, devastation, and fear. My life was forever changed by tragedy and no one allowed me to forget; constantly fingering me out, talking in hushed tones as if my name and family's pain wasn't being rolled off their gossiping tongues. Everyone did this, except for one. She instantly became my ray of sunshine with just her 1000 megawatt smile. That little brunette made that summer bitter sweet than the hell it was intended. She was my Rachel and I was her Luce.

When we met, it was on the 4th of July. I had only been orphaned for less than a month, before being dragged through hell and back; I was ripped away from the only living relative I had, my grandmother. She had gotten sick and moved in with my parents and I. So when they died, I didn't worry about what was gonna happen or what would happen next, because I had grandma and that was still love. But I was wrong, social services took me away, forcing both of us into homes we didn't want to be. They said I was too young and too my much a hand full for someone so old and sick; that she would most likely die trying to support me, so why hold off the inevitable? I never knew people could be so callous. So they made us pack separately, not wanting either of us to cause a scene and make it more difficult than it had to be, but that didn't stop us; before they could drag me through the front door of the only home I ever knew, my grandmother grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. I remember how tight her frail, lanky arms held me as I breathe in her scent through heavy tears.

I never got the chance to memorize her face, her perfume, or her touch, the social workers yanked me away before I had the opportunity and carried me towards the van as I kicked and screamed; barely registering the faint 'Be strong' my grandma yelled to me as I was being driven away from everything I knew and loved.

About two weeks later my social worker, Ms. Kay, took me to the senior home without any explanation. So, I assumed they changed their minds and was allowing grandma and I to go home, but damn how I was wrong; she quickly escorted me to a small room with little light, but I could visibly see my grandmother lying in bed as her favorite story flickered across the television screen. I squealed in happiness as I ran to her, hopping onto her bed and hugging her tightly but was only greeted with icy flesh and a peaceful expression adorning her sleeping face. I shook her, telling her to wake up so we could go home. Ms. Kay pulled me away and got on eye level with me.

'Lucy, dear. your grandmother passed away just like your parents did. She's in heaven with them right now, looking after you. Three angels who love you, aren't you lucky?" she said with a sad smile.

But what child would consider themselves lucky after losing their entire family?

"The reason I brought you here is because you will not be able to go to your grandma's funeral like with your parents. You're being adopted before the arrangement could be done, but the couple who is adopting you are nice and very wealthy; they're the Fabrays, you're a very special girl because they only wanted you.

I didn't respond, I didn't speak, and I just allowed her to lead the way back the children's home. The emotional connection to this experience is like a fresh gaping wound in my heart and soul, always burning with intensity and constricting as my memories of everyone become more disfigured as their features change by the passing year; at this point the image of my parents and grandmother could resemble any of yours as they're just bodies with vague or nonexistent faces.

Anyways, the next day I was informed that I would be leaving in a week when the Fabrays showed up. So I made a plan for that night, that during the 4th of July fireworks display being held downtown that I would run; and that's exactly what I did. I ran and never looked back, finding myself across town near the beach. I wandered for an hour before finding a secluded path. I followed it, not caring where it could lead just as long I was away from human contact; just as I was about to turn back thinking the trial would never end, I spotted a beach house with a private pier. I settled underneath the wooden structure as my knees pressed heavily into my chest. The cool sand wedged itself between my toes as I lazily drew into the grainy earth. I was too busy with my eyes cast upward, wondering which set of stars were my family to even notice a bouncing bounding brunette heading my way. It wasn't until I felt someone staring at me, did I immediately notice her. She just stood there gazing, taking in every feature of my being until I noticed that she was grinning at me. Her hair was dark brown and wavy, reaching a couple of inches past her shoulders, and her eyes were a perfect matching color of her auburn hair. I abruptly broke eye contact with her, pretending not to notice her still looking at me.

The silence wasn't broken until she introduced herself.

'Hey, I'm Rachel." She said as she formally stuck out her hand for me to shake. When I didn't grasp it, she frowned and kneeled before me. "Are you lost? Cause if you are, I can get one of my daddies to help find your family."

I looked up at her and faintly smiled. "Hi, I'm lucy and I don't have a family anymore."

"You mean like Annie and Madeline?" she asked softly as a flash of sadness flickered in her eyes.

"Yeah…." I disappointedly mutter.

"Well, It doesn't matter to me. I like you." She said. "It gives you a musical quality. You're like a star of your own life." She says with an unusual love for theatrics. "So are you hungry?" she asks and I only nod. She runs to her beach home, coming back with a mini cooler and placing it into my lap.

"Thanks, but why are you being so nice? All the other kids tease me." I finished that question off with a sadden smile, and she returned it as I rummaged through the little chest. It felt good, because it seemed as though she cared.

"Well because I wanna make you happy and I think you're really pretty. And pretty girls shouldn't cry." She finishes as I knit my eyebrows and looked at her, puzzled.

"Do you need glasses? I'm not pretty, just plain and ugly." I utter quietly as I eat my sandwich. She sighed loudly before standing up and huffing, going into a temper tantrum about mean people how they ruin the world and should be kicked in the shins.

I laughed at that, and despite of the way I was humoring myself, by laughing at her. She took it in stride and treated me like an equal; she didn't see an orphan, or a runaway, just another kid and a friend to have.

Once she was done fuming, she quickly changed gears and shouted out a new name for me.

"Hey, luce! Wanna go exploring before it gets too dark and my daddies worry?" she asks with a huge smile, this time revealing an amusing gapped grin. "Oh and don't tell anyone, but I'm still scared of the dark." She says in a hushed tone as if invisible people were spying. She got up and reached out her hand to help me up. I looked up at her, and as I grabbed her hand I felt something run through me. For some reason I didn't want to let go as I smiled at the nickname she had just given me.

We played for most of that night, Rachel had convinced her dads that she wanted to have a camp out with her new friend, of course them being parents of a young girl thought I was imaginary. I don't know how, but she convinced me that I should go back to the children's home and that things would get better. I saw the hope and faith in her eyes, so I believed her and went back the next morning.

That was the beginning of what was going to be (and still is) the most fantastic week of my life. We became the best of friends, spending almost every waking moment of the night together (I would always sneak out around midnight when the last head counts were performed), just playing and laughing; having one of the best adventures I ever had in my life on Berrymore Pier (a compound of both our last names, but I guess now it should be known as Faberry Pier), and there wasn't a thing in the world that I didn't feel like I could share with her as we would lay on that pier, both of us quickly taking up the scent of peaches, honeysuckle, and sea salt as the unique aroma perfumed our skin and hair. It felt so good being with her. I loved her so much, and as the end of our seven days approached, I started to feel like something was dying inside of me and I couldn't explain it, but it felt like losing another family member except worse. So when end of the week came, we tearfully parted; she had convinced her dads to allow her too see me off. They didn't even believe I existed until she uttered my name and demanded how we saw each other. So when the gapped tooth brunette arrived, we instantly clung to one another as my adoptive parents watched over us with distain in their eyes; as if I should be clinging for dear life to them, because they were my mercy. So I held tighter to Rachel as if one of us would die if we let go. To me, that was close to the truth, because I knew she would be the only to truly love me as Lucy Quinn Moore.