asteroidpie: Sorry guys! It's bee time since I've updated. Due to procrastination, I've been totally caught up in oral presentations, essays, etc. You know, all the fun stuff in highschool. Well, here's a longer chapter 3. Enjoooooy! c:

Oh, almost forgot.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Kingdom Hearts. Square and Disney do.

The sun shone into Laura's window every morning, waking her up and making her feeling relaxed and refreshed. However that wasn't the case this time. Rain pattered on her large window as her alarm went off. Expecting the warm sunlight shining through her window, she yawned, stretched and sat up. She looked over to her window happily, but found the sky looking right back at her with a very grim outlook. The clouds were darker than any she had seen before, the rain tumbling down even harder than before.

"What a bummer, I shouldn't have to walk in that today…" she sighed, walking out of her room and into the bathroom. Looking into the mirror, her bright blonde hair sprang about in messy, wavy curls. "Absolutely gorgeous, aren't you, you looker!" Laura joked, running a rough-bristled brush through her hair, somewhat taming the hair she labeled frequently as 'medusa hair'.

Turning on the shower, she quickly got in and washed up. As she turned off the shower, something began to rustle in the living room. Laura froze up, as it was 6:45am and she was home alone. Yikes… Things are also much scarier when you hear thunder and lightning outside, she thought to herself. She slowly, but quietly opened the bathroom door, in case someone was in the apartment with her.

Inwardly panicking, she began to contemplate any nearby items she could use in her defense. Oh! I've got it… she thought to herself, quickly running into her room and grabbed the hockey stick mounted on her wall. This stick brought back many memories, back to when she was first living with Adam.

Adam used to volunteer as a hockey coach for girls, and included Laura in the sport. This made Laura feel better, as she made new friends, including her best friend, Shelagh, and could concentrate her negative feelings about her birth parents into winning games. Soon after, she became one of the best players on her team. She looked upon the stick nostalgically, and felt safe with it as she took it into her possession.

Laura quickly strode to her dresser, taking out a white baseball shirt with orange shoulders and sleeves, and gray sweatpants. She gulped, and walked to her door.

As she peeked out of her room, she heard yet another rustle, which made her half jump, startled. 'Why me…?' she thought to herself as she groaned, inching farther and farther down the narrow hallway. She dreaded the possibility of an intrusion. Attempting to startle whatever was in the living room, she jumped out into the open, hockey stick hanging above her head, ready to strike.

"Haaa-!" However, there was nobody there. She lowered the hockey stick, and set it against the side of the sofa. "Huh…Weird." She whispered and shuddered at the damp, chilly breeze coming from…the open balcony door? She panicked, absolutely sure that someone must have been in the living room. Taking a quick look around, she ran over and closed the doors. Fixing the curtains, she noticed a small tear in the bottom. Oh, shit…"she winced, knowing how much Adam liked them.

She took a look at the clock and jumped at the fact that it was now 6:58. "Eek! I have to Get to school already…" she whined, remembering how she had a significant role in her High school's play. The rehearsal began at 7:30, and she couldn't afford to be late. Running back to her room to get her socks and undergarments on, she ran back out to get her bag, which was on the kitchen table. She put the white and light blue backpack on, and grabbed an apple. She looked over to the window beyond the kitchen in their dining area and glared at the ever-tumbling rain. "Yeah, yeah, go ahead and make my day…" Laura grumbled, slipping on her white and light- orange-colored Osiris shoes. Tucking the red laces into her shoes, she took her red umbrella and raced out of her apartment.

The air around Laura seemed to be over-concentrated with falling water as she waited for the city bus. Many cars drove past the bus stop as she sat inside of it, glad to be out of range of the rain. Surprisingly, she was the only one in the bus station. Usually it was packed with other students, both high school and university. Well, wait... It IS seven in the morning... she thought. Maybe it isn't so abnormal, afterall.

She then glanced over to the group of familiar boys walking to the bus stop. Of course I'd just have to jinx myself, wouldn't I… she groaned mentally. She knew the group of boys all too well. Almost every day she took the bus early to school she came across them. They were a part of the school Football team. Dylan, the group's supposed leader, caught her eye, and gave an over-confident smirk to her, and then to the rest of his gang as they chuckled.

She rolled her eyes, muttering an "Oh, great," and shifted on the bench so she didn't have to look at them.

"Hey, Laur. You're taking the bus pretty early, aren't you?" he chuckled as him and his friends came closer into view.

"I guess," she replied nonchalantly, not paying attention. She shifted her gaze elsewhere, and watched the rain patter onto the sidewalk.

She knew all too well that he had been trying to get with her for the past month, but decided on their first encounter she would ignore him. Jocks were so not her type. She knew she couldn't just ignore him, since he had all of his friends with him. She tensed up, but decided to play along, for now.

"So you've been talking the bus as early as us for like, every day so far this month, right guys?" his 'flunkies', as Laura described them, all chuckled, giving silly responses.

Laura shook her head, ruffling her wavy hair with her left hand. "Yes, Dylan, like, every day of this month. I'm in the school play…" she mimicked, and turned around to give him a sarcastic glare. His friends gave a little "Oooooooh," as if it had some sort of dramatic touch to the charming moment. Laura clenched her hands.

She then turned back to where she was facing, letting her shoulders loosen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone new walking down the street, someone she hadn't seen before. He made her feel more curious than usual for reasons unknown to her. He had a forest green umbrella, and…pinkish brown hair? No way. Now that was funny, She giggled, not realizing Dylan had been rambling on and on about how they were going to go out somewhere 'romantic' after school.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you want, Dylan," she replied without thinking, more interested in the young man and his pinkish-brown hair. Immediately she froze, having realized what she had just agreed to. "Shit…" she whispered. Johnnie, his closest friend, gave a shout of victory for his friend.

"Woah, she finally agreed! Way to score, man." He exclaimed, giving Dylan a high five.

"I know, right?" he replied victoriously to his friend. "I promise that with me, Laur, you won't regret it. After all, I am irresistible." He said cockily, leaning against one of the bus stops' glass window panes. She stuck her tounge out in disgust. "You caught me out of focus, but whatever, I guess I'll hang out with you after school today." she sighed, just giving in. If I just ginore him the entire time I'm with him, maybe he'll just ditch. Hopefully, he'll just ditch...

The bell rang, signaling the end of Anthropology for Laura. She packed up her books and walked out of the rushing class. The entire day she had been thinking about the news reports about the foreign material, and how her English teacher had some crazy theory about how holes in time and space were opening up, sending objects to us from another world, or dimension. She had to give it to him, though, for his imagination. Although, in the back of her mind, it could make sense...

"Did you see how bad I cut that player up? Oh, buddy, you don't even know. Shit. Was. Bruuuutal, boys!" she heard a voice bellow from down the hallway, and immediately recognized it as one of Dylan's friends, Troy. She glanced over from where she stood at her locker, and saw the two in intense game-mode from the previous night's Hockey game, in which they did 'brutally' kick the other team's butt. They were good, but it didn't mean she had to like them. She half hid her head in her locker and tried to blend in with the group of tenth graders beside her taking. She wanted to try everything in her power to stay off their radar, and possibly avoid hers and Dylan's date. It was the last thing she wanted. Oh, if Adam only knew what I had to go through at school...

"Hey! Laura! How'd you do on your biology quiz? And why is your head in your..." a boyish voice asked out of the blue, making Laura jump and hit her head on the upper shelf of her locker. "...locker." the boy beside her winced, knowing he'd startled her. She retreated from the locker, rubbing her head and laughing. "Oh, I did alright I think. How about you, Leo?" she asked the tall, messy-brown haired boy. He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I did alright. Sorry for scaring you there..."he apologized, but Laura assured him it was nothing. Putting away her heavy textbooks into her locker, she quickly closed it, glad to be done with them for the week.

He looked over past her, noticing the pair of jocks he assumed she'd been hiding from. "You got into trouble with him again? It seems like you're drifting off more than usual lately..." he laughed, adding emphasis on 'him'.

Laura turned pale, a sort of desperate look on her face. "Wait, you know about that? How?" she asked, devastated.

He better not have...

"Are you kidding? All of Chemistry knows thanks to him. You're so lucky you had to finish a test outside the class today, because you would've ripped his head off!" he said between laughs. Laura glared at Lionel, or "Leo", as she called him.

"Ohhhhhhh! He's SO in for it tomorrow. Screw ever agreeing to go anywhere with him," she scoffed. Lionel chuckled, his hand over his eyes in disbelief of this hilarious scene.

Laura huffed, tensing up her body, but soon after loosened up with a sigh. "Well, since I'm going to be avoiding him, are you free for a while before going home?" she asked her messy-haired friend, who thought about her question for a second.

"I don't think I have anything to do. How come?" he asked her, expecting her to drag him to the park for the umpteenth time.

She smiled, excited. "Good, because we're trying out that new ice cream trailer over by the Zoo!" she exclaimed.

He gave her a smile, enjoying the idea. "Sure, why not...ah!" he could barely finish his scentence before she gave a 'woo-hoo!' and dragged him by the hand, running out of the hallways.

Laura's mouth turned to a small smile as she and Lionel walked out of the doors of her high school. After lunch, the rain had cleared up and left the earth and sky to dry out and warm up. Perfect walking weather, she thought to herself as they walked down the large concrete steps of her even larger, all-brick and molded concrete high school.

"So it's off to the Zoo we go, eh?" Lionel asked Laura as they walked across the student-filled parking lot, cars going by here and there.

Laura had a determined smile on her face. "We sure are. I was told that they have really cool flavors. There's this one I want to try, it's called..." she couldn't finish her thought because she had forgotten the flavour of ice cream.

Lionel gave her a puzzled look. "You okay there, brainfarts?" he joked. She punched him lightly in the arm.

"Oh, stop it. I remember what it was called now. It's called sea salt ice cream." she explained, proud of herself for remembering.

He gave her a disgusted look. "Salty ice cream? Sorry, but yuck!" he exclaimed, obviously unsure of what was possibly compelling her to try such a flavour. She pouted, stuck her nose up and walked faster, stepping onto the sidewalk.

"You're no fun, Leo. Have some fun once in a while, you know? I want to see what all the hype is all about, so I'm going to try it." she grinned confidently to him who was trying to catch up to her. He sped up to her and put his hands in his pockets.

"Whatever you say, Laur." he said nonchalantly, obviously onto another thought in his head. "Come to think of it, have you seen Shelagh around? I received texts from her last night, but I haven't seen her at all today..." he trailed off, wondering where their red-haired friend could be.

Laura thought for a second. "It isn't like her to just...dissapear on us, is it? She's the kind to let us know if she feels bad, or if she's run off somewhere early." Laura brainstormed, confused as to why she hadn't been answering any texts all day.

Lionel shrugged. "Maybe her phone's dead and she simply already left, that's all. It happens." he concluded, and gave Laura a reassuring smile. She smiled back.

"Yeah, you're right. Hey, look, we're at the Zoo now. Let's get our ice cream!" Laura exclaimed, jumping in excitement.

He rolled his eyes playfully. "Alright, easy, 'Cheers'," he said back to her jokingly. She rolled her eyes, smiled wide and gave a "Whatever".

Lionel glanced over to the ice cream trolley, over-run by small kids and the elderly. "It seems pretty crowded over there. Why don't you go get us a spot to sit over by the pond?" he suggested. "I'll be back with the ice cream in a little bit."

To her, it seemed like a great idea. "Awesome, I hate crowds. But don't take too long!" she agreed, smiling. She turned around and started towards the pond, where they usually sat.

But something didn't feel right.

She jogged quickly across the paths to their favorite hangout, where the pond area was still a little damp from the rain. She settled down underneath a willow tree by the water, where there were a couple large rocks outlining the banks. She sat on one of the rocks, looking out onto the water. It was calm, as usual. She let the bag slip off of her shoulders where it had previously been bugging her.

There was a loose, warm breeze in the air. She sighed as she took in the smell of some fresh-blooming wildflowers a couple feet away from where she sat. The smell seemed to clear her mind, refreshing it from being so caught up in schoolwork, the news, stressful people and car exhaust. "Their aroma... It's nice, isn't it?" she heard a smooth voice behind her ask. She turned around to see it was the man she had spotted earlier that morning. Shocked, she nodded. "Why, yes, it really is." she replied, not knowing what to say.

Should I smile? Should I be creeped out? He doesn't seem like he would do any harm, would he? He just started a conversation with me... But he's a stranger. But Leo will come back any minute, won't he-

Sorry if I startled you, there. I had seen you this morning waiting for the bus, then at school, and wasn't sure if you were the same person. But you are, so it's all fine and dandy." he explained.

She nodded, finally observing his strange appearance. The man, looking like he was in his late teens, had longish, shaggy brown hair that had a slight tint of pink in it. Strange, she thought. The man wore a grey and jungle green Dolman style sweater, with a checkered scarf. He wore dark-coloured jeans and checkered Vans-like shoes. Over all, he looked decent, she thought, despite the pinkish hair.

"Are you new at school or something?" Laura asked, unsure of what else to say. He smiled and nodded as he came to sit down beside her. " Yes, I just transferred from...Canada," he explained hesitantly. She questioned in her head why he had hesitated. Almost as if he had read her mind, he laughed.

"I know that sounded a little sketchy. I wasn't sure if you were familiar with the town I'm from, so I just decided to say my country..." he replied sheepishly, shifting himself so he sat facing towards her, cross-legged. She did the same, somewhat trusting this new person. It felt weird still, though, like something was pulling a nerve in the back of her heart.

"That's alright," Laura replied with a smile. "Do you like it at all here? I know it might be hard changing schools in the middle of a semester." He nodded.

"Especially in grade 12. It's nonsense trying to reason with the guidance here, know what I mean? All a bunch of grumps," he joked with a nervous grin. She could tell he was being sincere, so she decided to bring up something that's been on her mind.

"So how long have you been in Manhattan? Long enough to watch the news broadcasts about the findings?" She asked enthusiastically. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, and then let out an "Oh!", reaching into his pocket. With a sneaky grin, he pulled out his hand, clenched around something.

"So you know about it too, do you? Wait until you see this..." he whispered loudly, unclenching his hand and dropping what he had held in her two hands.

Laura gasped in both suprise, bewilderment and amazement. "N-no...No way!"

-----

asteroidpie: Yeah, cliffie. So what? :D Stay tuned, I'm writing the next one right now.