((So, after a morning of shamelessly shipping Nolan/Jack and Nolan/Tyler (Because apparently I'm good at roleplaying Nolan c: ), I finally got my beta to edit my story. Because she doesn't support Emily(Amanda)/Daniel, she whined about it endlessly.
So, this was actually a prompt fill for BYF. It's over at the Revenge forum, if anyone wants to see. Oh, oh, and I think anyone else can fill the prompt too. (Goodness, I said I'd do it in August. I'm sorry, I'm a terrible person DDDD: )
I'm sorry I took so long, and the quality of my writing is not that good ^_^ I tried though, so I hope someone else likes it~!))
There was a lot of things that Daniel Grayson thought were beautiful. For example, his loving mother was a part of the beauty of the world. She was a lovely woman, her long hair shimmering whenever she left the house, trudging through the snow in her pricey black jackets, like she wants to blend into the darkness of the night, towards the little beach house a few minutes away or so. Why would she go there? He had never met the family who stayed there in that beach house.
Snow.
That was another thing he thought was beautiful. The way it covered the outside of his house, and how he would run around in it alone, his small feet making prints in the snow. He was alone every time it snowed, and found it hard to enjoy hot chocolate while his toes were warmed by the soft fire in the fireplace, and the rest of his body cuddled under a blanket. He thought he'd be all forever.
'It's all a Grayson would even achieve,' he had once thought, feeling like it was true.
Alone...
Alone forever...
Until that beautiful girl showed up...
Amanda Clarke.
She was the girl who lived next door. She was about his height, with pretty blond hair, and shimmering eyes. Whenever she would smile, her innocent grins would make his heart flutter. She was different from the rest of the people here, he noticed, as he would watch her reactions from afar. Her intentions were pure. But nothing stayed pure or innocent in the Hamptons; it was a known fact. Yet this girl, Amanda, would laugh, chasing her puppy down the beach, or playing imaginary games, and it was obvious that she was the most precious thing he had ever seen.
Courage.
Once, Daniel had the courage to speak to her. She had been making snow angels, alone on the beach. Alone like he is. The water that was slightly frosted over, giving it a light icy look, splashed around her outline. She had screamed at him, calling Daniel 'just like his mother' and telling him to leave her alone, because she didn't want to become acquainted with him.
He did leave her alone.
He went back to his own house, where the cold couldn't get him and the fire would be his only friend. He wished he had a brother or a sister. Or even just a friend. Someone who would always have his back.
He wondered what Jack Porter had that he didn't.
Daniel had good looks, where Jack, in Daniel's opinion, did not. Maybe beautiful Amanda preferred personality. Daniel had personality and looks, so why had she tagged along with Jack like they were life-long friends?
It made Daniel jealous enough to walk over to them, months after the beautiful snow had melted, watching as Amanda and Jack stopped running along the edge of the water to watch him approach. The look in Jack's eyes was enough for Daniel to know that Jack disapproved of him. But Amanda's eyes were different. Full of sorrow and pity.
Daniel really didn't care what Jack thought.
Amanda smiled, "Want to race with us?" She asked him. Daniel nodded, and she suddenly donned a wider grin, "Cool." She breathed, "I've never had a four-people running race before. Sammy, Jack and I always race." As if hearing her name, Sammy ran towards Amanda, pawing at her leg. She bent down and patted the puppy.
"Amanda always wins." Jack said, clearly grudgingly, but slowly warming up to the idea of a fourth presence. He picked up a stick, and threw it. Sammy chased after it, and Amanda stood up.
"Okay, I guess we can race now." She said, brushing sand from her knees, "First one to my house is claimed the winner."
Jack began a countdown, "Three, two- Hey! That's cheating!" Amanda took off down the beach before Jack had even finished counting to two.
As Daniel assumed, from what Jack had said, Amanda won the race.
They spent the rest of the day building a sandcastle.
They actually all became friends.
Daniel had never had true friends before.
But he had always known that nothing stayed perfect in the Hamptons.
There was one night when he heard her scream. From the front door of his own house, he could just barely see her being taken by those people. Whoever they were –those horrible people- picked her up and dragged her away, her father following in handcuffs.
He made a promise to himself that he would always protect her.
He met her years later, at that party. He would protect her. Amanda. Emily. Whatever. Whoever she was. He would protect that same girl on the beach.
But was she still the same girl?
((The part with Jack dragged on too longggggg...
~Kat))