Chapter Two- What Will It Take?
Brent Stephen Smith. Born as an only child, and for most of his childhood only had a nanny to call family. His mother was a very well renowned lawyer, and was gone a lot dealing with cases. His father was in and out of their lives, and even when he was a part of it, he spent his time travelling for his business. Despite only having fleeting moments with his family, he never spoke ill of them. He knew they were doing what they had to do. But, with all of his freedom as he got older, he found out he had a love of music.

 He spent every dime of his allowance and money he earned from odd jobs on anything that caught his attention. And this obsession of his is what his dreams were made of. He wanted to be like his idols, to be on stage, rocking out. Sadly, as much as he wanted to play the guitars or drums, he had tried several times and just didn't like it. It was only by chance did he learn he was a pretty damn good singer.

 By the end of middle school, he had made new friends who shared his passion of music. They played every weekend in their garages, even though their parents hated it, and they were sure the neighbors had a few complaints as well. But Brent didn't care. He felt alive when he sang, he felt like he was finally in the one place he belonged.

 He begged and pleaded his parents every chance he could to get new music, new equipment, everything he felt he would need to start his rock star life. They said they would help him, on the one condition he would stick to his studies and graduate. To at least prove he wanted to do this, he had to work for it.

 That was fine and dandy until they uprooted his comfortable life, ripped him away from his friends and dreams, and moved him here to Colorado. Even though the promise was still the same, it didn't matter much to him. His life, his music, everything was back home. Not here in this miserable place. But, after a few weeks of moving here and walking downtown, he started to feel things were going to change.

 They weren't flashy and even though their music seemed choppy and slapped together, Brent loved it. The entire place was hardly paying any attention to the group of guys, but he was hooked. It was the first time in a long time he felt good about living here. When the guys got bored of trying to entertain the crowds, they packed up their stuff to leave, but Brent hurried to catch them.

 The three of them; Zach, Barry, and Eric, were all around Brent's age, except Zach. He had just turned twenty one. And they all seemed skeptical about Brent at first, until he showed them he was serious and proved he could sing. Then they were interested. So, every weekend they would hang out at Zach's place, play music, get drunk off Zach's never ending supply of beer, and make plans for their future.

 So, why was it that everything else seemed to be going great, except at school? Sure, he had made friends he could get along with and hang out with. But Sara seemed to be the only person who still hated him. He could understand a few days of being miffed at butting heads, but two months? As much as he tried forgetting about her and ignoring it, he couldn't. He simply needed to know.

 He got his chance one day when he was walking the halls during lunch. Most days they were crowded with groups of kids gossiping about everything from the latest phones, the newest designers and models, and who broke up with who. But this week, they were rather empty, only a few stragglers here and there. It was the week before finals, so most students were in the library cramming everything they could in such a short time.

 Brent rounded a corner, humming to one of the songs playing on his iPod, when he felt a chill up his spine. He stopped dead in his tracks and looked up. There she was at her locker, putting some books away. Her usual group of friends were nowhere to be seen, she was alone for once. Swallowing, he slowly began walking towards her. This was probably the only chance he would get, he had to take it.

 Sara, like always, had her head up in the clouds and was dreaming of what life was going to be like after school. Where would she go, what would she do? She sighed, a silly smile on her face as she grabbed the last book she would need for the day. As she straightened up to close her locker, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. Thinking it was one of her friends, she turned around quickly, a smile on her face. Until she looked up into the blue eyes of a face that had been haunting her dreams since day one. No, no, no, she thought, sucking in a deep breath and pushing herself against the lockers, trying to create as much space between them as possible.

 When he reached out to turn her to face him, he was prepared to be yelled at and pushed away. But seeing the smile on her face made his heart skip a few beats. After all, this close, it was the most emotion he had seen on her face. This close, he could smell faint floral scents from her shampoo, see the silver specks of color in her green eyes. It was tempting to just reach out and wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair. But, when he looked into her eyes and saw that he was getting the famous "Go Fuck Yourself" look, he cleared his throat and stepped back a little.

 "Listen," he began, putting his hands on either side of her, taking slow deep breaths. "I know you hate me. I don't know why you do, and it's driving me crazy!" He stopped, closing his eyes. "Please, Sara. Just tell me why you hate me so much."

 She stood there, her body wanting to run away and hide from him. But her mind wasn't getting the message to her muscles, leaving her frozen. He was so close to her now, and she could feel her heart pounding in her chest, she was surprised it didn't explode. Being in such close proximity to him, she could smell his after shave. It was faint, but it reminded her of freshly mowed grass after a summer storm. Very strong and down to earth. She was beginning to shake from forcing herself so far away from him.

 When he said her name, she had to catch her breath again. It sent a warm feeling over her. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again to speak, but nothing came out. Sighing, she closed her eyes. How could she tell him? I don't hate you, she said silently. I've liked you since day one, but I can't let myself. Everything is perfect, and when I think of you, everything is chaotic, crazy. You make me weak. Taking a slow, shaky breath, she finally looked up to him, trying hard not to give way to her true feelings. "Because, you're just a stupid boy and wouldn't understand. So leave me the hell alone." She ducked under his arm and tried to get away as fast as possible.

 "Dammit, Sara!" he called after her, catching up and taking her wrist in his hand. Bad idea.

 Touching her skin sent a strange, but strong electrical shock through him. Falling backwards, he sat there staring at her in shock. Whatever it was, it was like the two of them became one for that split second. And he could tell she felt it too, but her face was more confused and scared. Not exactly what he was expecting after that, but it was better than being glared at, right?

 "What the fuck was that?" he breathed when he finally could form a coherent thought.

 It can't be, she said to herself, staring at him. I'm not even, there's no way. It's just stories, she repeated a few times. She knew the legends about her ancestry, the twisted blood lines that ran in her family. But, there was one part of them she thought was just a bunch of bull. Except now. She had to take a moment to reevaluate the situation. Her mind was fuzzy, her body was still tingling with electricity, and for that briefest period of time, it was like she had touched his mind, felt everything he felt and knew. And then was yanked back into the cold cruel world.

 It seemed like eternity before she could finally speak again. She balanced herself, and still with her eyes locked onto his, she opened her mouth. "I know this seems, weird, and strange, But, meet me in the courtyard after school. I can try to explain."

 And with that, she turned on her heel and was gone. Brent pulled himself to his feet, dragging his bag off the floor and over his shoulder again. Dumbfounded and confused, he shook his head a little. It really didn't make any sense, but he knew he would have to find her after school. Even if her explanation made no sense, he would go to at least see her if nothing else.

 The shrill ringing of the bell startled him back into reality, and he quickly rushed off to class. He didn't even have a chance to eat, and his stomach growled loudly in protest as he jogged through the school before the halls got too crowded.