Prologue - The Awakening

Harlow's breath hitched as she drew in the pollution-tinged air that surrounded her. That was the only evidence she had been crying, the tears had long since dried, and yet the anger, the cutting betrayal and soul-shattering heartbreak hadn't dissipated in the slightest. Her eyes roamed the city skyline, bright lights illuminated the huge imposing sky scrapers surrounding her, but they paled in comparison to the building she stood on now. It was the tallest building for miles and miles. From the bottom it was foreboding and monstrous, but from her vantage point on the roof, it gave her a panoramic view of the world below.

She looked down seeing people scurrying along, she envied them, the unsuspecting people living and dying without ever knowing what really lurked in the shadows. She longed for a normal life, wished with all her being that she could erase all her knowledge of the terrifying, nightmarish - and in some cases, beautifully captivating and awe inspiring - things that existed alongside humans without anyone ever realising.

She wondered how she must look to them, the people below. What would they think? To look up and see a young girl with long black hair whipping wildly around her head, tear stained face and bare toes dangling over the precipice of the immense building. They'd panic; of course, she knew how it must look. Harlow's dress billowed around her legs and plastered against her pale skin in the strong gusts of wind.

She stood rigid, fists clenched so tightly that her fingers cramped up and her nails bit into her skin. But she didn't care. The pain grounded her, but did nothing to clear the hectic chaos in her head. She did her best to ignore the questions darting around her mind, but the noise just got louder and louder until it felt as though there were a hundred people screaming angry questions at her. All vying for her attention. All begging to be answered. But Harlow didn't have the answers. She didn't know why he had lied to her.

A bitter laugh rang in her ears, it sounded hollow, cynical. And Harlow realised with a start that it was her who had laughed. She sounded old beyond her years, like someone who knew too much for their own good. How could she have been so stupid? She had trusted him, and he had deceived her. She refused to think of him, the one who betrayed her, and the one who she would not name for fear of the memories flooding back. But it was no use; she scrunched her eyes up and rubbed hard at them with the heels of her hands, the image of his face was branded into her eyelids, she couldn't stop the urge to touch him and feel the searing heat of his skin.

Harlow made a noise that sounded a lot like a growl, and clenched her teeth, her anger mounting once again. It was like a tidal wave, sweeping her away, threatening to drown her completely. By now her breath was coming in fast short gasps as flashes of memories poured back in, she couldn't stop it now. So she surrendered to it. She closed her eyes and let the fury and pain wash over her, tears ran freely down her cheeks and just when she was sure she was about to break, to shatter completely, something shifted inside her.

Harlow felt a sort of thump between her shoulder blades, followed by warmth radiating from that point and across her back. She took in a sharp breath, but kept her eyes closed, like she knew in the back of her mind what was happening. Instinct took over and Harlow arched her back, she heard a rustling sound close to her ears something velvety soft brush against the back of her upper arms. A serene smile spread across her lips, she knew what to do. Some deep seeded instinct told her to spread her arms, and push her shoulders back. She felt the new weight on her back and sighed happily, she was surer of herself than she had been in a long, long time. Harlow bent her knees slightly and sprung off the building, into the abyss below.

Chapter 1 - The First Sight

The bright sunlight streamed through a slit in the kitchen blinds and fell across Harlow's hand as she drummed her fingers on the cheap plastic table. The strip of light coming from the gap offered the only brightness to the otherwise dingy kitchen, which was filled with old mismatched furniture. She stared at the dust motes that slowly drifted through the air meandering in and out of the shaft of light that pooled onto the table. Harlow closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, the air smelled like stale cigarette smoke and didn't help to make her feel any better.

She slid the chair back abruptly, it made a sharp squealing noise as it scraped across the worn linoleum. Harlow looked over her shoulder at the clock on the wall, if she didn't leave now she would be late. She tried to stamp down the disappointment that lodged a lump in her throat. Lisa, her so called mother, should be here now. Harlow had no idea why she was surprised, Lisa's absence was nothing new.

It was her own fault, really, she had stupidly held out hope that Lisa would have stayed sober for once and not passed out drunk, god knows where, with God knows who. One measly night. Just so she could be there to see her only daughter off to school, to wish her luck. Harlow's guitar exam was today, the only thing she was passionate about in life and she was so nervous. She tried not to think of how badly she wanted her mother to be there right now.

Heaving a sigh she resigned herself to the fact she was going to have to leave. Harlow blinked rapidly to dispel the tears that threatened to spill down her face, and picked up the guitar case that leant against the chipped frame of the back door. Her guitar was like a life line, it blocked out the sound of Lisa throwing glasses of whisky at the wall when she was in a rage. It comforted her when she'd had a hard time at school. It was her only friend, the only one who understood her. Harlow snorted, she realised how pathetic it was to have a guitar, an inanimate object, as her only friend.

Shaking her head she shouldered the strap of the guitar case and picked up her black book bag. She grabbed her keys and ran her eyes quickly over her reflection in the scratched mirror that hung on the wall next to the back door. Her black hair fell in waves to her shoulder blades; her skin was pale and her pink lips held in a firm line. Silver-gray eyes stared back at her and shone with unshed tears. She frowned at her reflection and wiped her eyes, though her other facial features were unremarkable; Harlow had always liked her eyes.

When she was younger her mother had once told her she had her father's eyes, and she loved that because it gave her hope that there was a chance she wouldn't turn out like her sorry excuse for a mother. It was a link to a different side of her, something she was so desperate for; she held on tightly to anything that gave her reason to believe she could be something, that she could do something worthwhile with her shambles of a life.

Then again, she had no idea if being like her Dad would be any better since she had never met him. Shaking those sombre thoughts from her head, Harlow left through the back door, not bothering to lock it since Lisa wouldn't have a key and the last thing she wanted was her mother to turn up at school reeking of alcohol and dressed in yesterday's clothes. Besides, they didn't have anything worth stealing.

Outside it was so dark it looked as though it was late evening. Heavy black clouds blotted out the sun that had been streaming through the window only a few moments ago. It was as if the weather was reflecting her mood, dark, dismal, and an intense sense of impending doom. Harlow had no idea how accurate those feelings were. The wind blew in small circles creating mini whirlwinds, capturing the autumn leaves that had fallen from the trees dotted around the shoddy home, sending them flying up into the air and then showering them back down.

She trudged through her back garden which was littered with rubbish and bits of furniture that Lisa had begrudgingly had to move out of the home when they fell apart. She clambered over an old mattress that had rusty old springs jutting out of the material, and made her way to the back of the garden. When she reached the end Harlow ran her hand across the old rotting fence that bordered the area around the house until she found the loose panel. Moving it out of the way, she stepped through and into the small, dense woods the house backed on to. Her school was a twenty minute trek through the wooded area, but Harlow didn't mind, it gave her chance to think.

The trees that towered over her offered some protection from the elements, the forest floor was wrapped in a peculiar bubble of stillness, though she could hear the tops off the trees being thrashed around and causing leaves to cascade down. Orange, red and golden foliage drifted peacefully to the ground and made a glorious carpet that crunched under her feet. After a while of meandering through the autumnal trees, they eventually gave way to the road that led up to her school. Looking at her watch Harlow knew she had to hurry and set off at a fast pace. She felt a drop of moisture splash on her nose and looked up to see the rain start to fall. She grumbled to herself and pulled the hood up of her black zip up jacket.

The pace of rain drops increased rapidly until it was pouring down, soaking through her canvass shoes, thin hoodie and dark gray jeans. She raced for the last few yards to get into school before she was washed away by the pounding rain. Even though Harlow lived in a small town, the school building itself was huge and ancient looking. It was made of crumbling gray rock and the face of it was filled with a mish-mash of windows, all different sizes and shapes. The original doors had been replaced by big glass ones, and looked greatly out of place on the front of the old structure.

The area surrounding the school was mainly patchy grass and huge trees, surrounded by a chain link fence to try and stop any students sneaking out and into the surrounding wooded area that covered pretty much the whole town. The unnecessarily large building meant that even when the bell was just about to ring and the entire student body were rushing through, the hallways and corridors still weren't packed. Everyone just rattled around in the massive building.

It wasn't uncommon to walk through areas of the school that were completely empty and sometimes hadn't been used in years. This added to the fact the school was a couple of hundred years old and that not much in the school had been updated in a long, long time, gave the school an eerie feeling. This wasn't helped by the fluorescent lights that flickered starkly, reflecting off the uneven floor below.

Harlow rushed to get to English, the first lesson of the day. She made her way to the back of the room and slumped into her seat. She hated school, it was just another place she felt alienated and alone. She quickly scanned the room, it was long and narrow with single person desks lined up into rows of four all the way down to the front. The window next to Harlow was old and did nothing to keep the cold out, making her shiver. She dug around in her book bag to find everything she needed for the lesson, and then idly scribbled on her note pad.

The teacher, Mrs Peak, entered the room and called attention to the class. Her red hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail; she had sharp cheek bones and a straight nose giving her a very harsh appearance, which matched her personality perfectly. Her pants suit added to the severity of her look and though she was strict, Harlow admired her no-nonsense attitude.

Mrs Peak stared everyone into silence with a death glare "I have something unexpected I need to attend to, I'm afraid it cannot wait. I should be back in 15minutes, anything we don't have time to get on to today, due to the delay will have to be done as homework." A collective moan sounded from the class, but was quickly silenced with another look from Mrs Peak. "Keep the noise to a minimum while I am gone or the homework will be doubled" and with that she turned and left.

With Mrs Peak's absence, the others sat on each other's desks chatting excitedly while waiting for the teacher to return. They all duly ignored her existence. Looking at them gossiping and laughing sent a twinge of resentment through Harlow. She refused to be as pathetic as to wish she had friends, and besides, wishing only made her hope for the impossible. Once an outcast, always an outcast.

Harlow leant forward in her seat and let her hair become a curtain between her and everyone else in the small classroom, she made up lyrics in her head and tried to drown out the chatter of the 17 other students. Looking out of the dirty old window, she could see it was still pouring down. It looked as though a storm was coming, she could feel it thick in the air, could sense it in the room, everyone was almost buzzing with static electricity. It made Harlow feel strange, it was like everyone around her was building up, waiting for a crescendo, while all she could do was sit and watch, ever the outsider. She shivered and let her head drop onto her hand, hoping no one noticed her there.

****

The sky was clear and the stars dotting it shone with an intense bright white luminosity, the moon cast a silvery iridescent light over the field Harlow stood in, making it look almost ethereal. The long wild grass swayed in the slight breeze and brushed her fingertips as she slowly walked - with no real direction - just enjoying this beautiful and extremely serene place.

Harlow had no recollection of how she got here, or where she was. But she felt safe, this place felt familiar and that put her mind at ease. Though something niggled in the back of her mind, like something wasn't right. It buzzed like an annoying fly that she quickly swatted away, she didn't want to listen, she was happy just walking, happy to have a moment of peace.

After a while of wondering around the seemingly endless meadow, Harlow heard a hushed rustling sound behind her. She quickly spun around, and was met with a sight that made her eyes widen. Before her stood a boy, or a man, she couldn't really tell. Although he looked young on first appearance, the more she took him in the more she could see something in his eyes, a tiredness that you would expect to see on someone a lot older than he looked.

Harlow took a steadying breath, for some reason her heart was pounding as if it was trying to burst through her chest. She blinked, once, twice, trying to see if the boy was real or a mirage. Surly he couldn't be real, but he was still stood there, staring at her with a strange intensity that Harlow didn't understand. She tried to take him in, to commit his features to memory.

His eyes were a blazing green that had to be contacts; they couldn't possibly be that bright. They were framed by thick black eyelashes that cast shadows onto high cheek bones. His forehead was obscured by a shock of inky black hair that surrounded his head in a messy halo. He had lips that any girl would envy, full and berry red, held in a firm line. He looked...annoyed? Confused? Worried? She couldn't really tell, so Harlow dismissed it to let her eyes roam over the rest of this mystery boy.

He was wearing a tight fitted t-shirt that clung to an athletic body and through the long grass she could just see he was wearing dark jeans. For reasons unknown to Harlow, her eyes were drawn to the air around him, like she expected something to be there. But she hadn't a clue as to what. She frowned at her own strange behaviour but still couldn't take her eyes of the space directly behind the boy.

"You shouldn't be here" He spoke quietly and his deep voice was so silky, it vibrated through her, and involuntarily pulled her eyes back to his face. Though when she looked at him she realised he wasn't talking to her, but to himself. Did he mean her? "W-what?" Her voice quivered when she spoke, though she didn't know why. She felt nervous; maybe he was right, she shouldn't be here. Just as quickly as she had turned to face him, Harlow turned her back on the beautiful boy and started to walk back the way she came. She felt a sudden urge to be very far away.

"Wait!" The pain in his voice made Harlow freeze on the spot, she looked back at him and the look in his eyes made her stomach do a flip. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly bone dry. He looked torn, like he didn't want to be there, but couldn't bring himself to leave. "How-" he started to speak but my shaking voice cut him off "Who are you?" I whispered. She didn't expect the look of utter surprise on his face, his eyes widened, then narrowed. He looked as though that was the last thing he thought she would say.

He didn't answer, but he walked towards Harlow, causing her heart to pump faster still. Quicker than she expected he stood before her, close enough that she could feel his cool breath across her face, it smelt sweet and made her head swim so much she couldn't think coherently. She looked up at him, she was chest height to him, and she had the compulsion to lay her head there, to wrap her arms around him.

"I don't understand" Harlow looked into those emerald green eyes, searching for an answer to an unknown question. He gave her a wry smile that made her think he felt the same and made Harlow's palms sweat. When he smiled his face lit up making his eyes glow. "This shouldn't be happening" he said so fervently, for some inexplicable reason it made Harlow want to cry. Why didn't he want her here? It hurt to think he wanted her to go away. But Why? He was just a stranger.

A loud ringing made Harlow jump, her eyes shot open, sweat coated her entire body. Her stomach roiled and threatened to empty itself at any given moment. It was just a dream. She struggled to get her heartbeat under control, to slow her erratic breathing, to shake the strange feeling she had. She looked around the classroom, which was rapidly emptying. It had felt so real. Harlow scrambled to pack her books up and make her way out of the classroom, but her fingers wouldn't work properly. Something about that dream had affected her deeply, but she had no idea why. Flustered, and more than a little rattled, she rushed out of the room.

Chapter 2 - Crash and Burn

By the time Harlow got to the music room a couple of hours later, she was still feeling a little shaken up. She was having a hard time pin pointing what it was about the dream that made her feel that way. Nothing major had happened, no traumatic events, it wasn't even scary. Just a little weird. In her two classes before, science and I.T, she had drifted through in her own little reverie, feeling bewildered and frantically trying to put the dream to the back of her head. But she just couldn't do it. Something about it niggled at her; every time she thought about it he palms began sweating, her heart raced and her stomach turned over. For the fiftieth time she tried to gain some semblance of calm.

It was a free period and Harlow had come extra early so she had time to prepare and focus. She needed to concentrate, in a few minutes she would be doing her guitar exam. She had been working towards this for so long and she was desperate to get it right. It felt like a lot was riding on this, one day it would be her ticket out of here, she could go to a music school, somewhere far away from this life. She could start again; make a whole new identity for herself. Just the thought of it made Harlow smile, the chance to be someone new.

The music room wasn't very big but had a high ceiling, making it appear almost cavernous. Huge arched windows ran down one side, offering a view of the rain that was still pelting down and the wind whipping through the trees, stripping the golden and red leaves off them. There were a few rickety, scratched up desks stacked up and pushed against the back wall, but the majority of the scuffed hardwood floor was occupied by rows and rows of chairs, arranged in a semi circle to face the chalk board that was more gray than black due to many years of use.

Various different kinds of musical instruments were dotted around the area and in the corner by the window stood an aged piano that looked like it could collapse at any given moment. The chipped yellowing paint on the walls was mostly covered by the various pictures of different musicians that the music teacher deemed "appropriate", mostly classical composers and the odd pop singer, nothing to Harlow's taste, she preferred songs that evoked real emotion and bands that she could relate too, but there was no chance of seeing posters of "My Chemical Romance" or "Blink 182" on these walls.

Compared to the howling wind and pouring rain outside, the room was unsettlingly still and deadly silent. It felt like being in the eye of a storm. The windows rattled with the blustery weather, threatening to cave in. Harlow dragged a stool from the corner of the room and the loud sharp noise that echoed off the walls made her wince. She placed it in front of the bulky scratched up oak desk that the music teacher usually occupied, sat down facing the door and took out her guitar.

For a while she just sat there staring out the window in the door, watching the few students milling around the corridor looking for somewhere to spend their free period. They stood around in cliques in the hallways: the group of blonde shiny girls who always looked perfect and plastic with fake tan and fake eyelashes, the sports freaks, all muscle bound and infuriatingly stupid, pushed each other around play fighting and teasing the students who wondered around alone, the misfits, the strange kids who didn't quite fit in anywhere else but were happy to be in their own little group, stood in a close circle laughing and talking animatedly. Even the misfits didn't want to befriend her Harlow thought pitiably.

Rolling her eyes at her own drab thoughts, she instead turned her attention to her guitar. Her prized possession was a 6 string acoustic, beautiful deep green with a few band stickers stuck on it. It was her pride and joy and was the only thing in the world that was truly hers. She had worked so hard all through summer, doing odd jobs for people in the neighbourhood, mowing lawns, cutting hedges, raking leaves, painting window frames and fences, anything so that she could earn every penny herself and buy the guitar she had always dreamed of owning. And because it was hers, bought with her own money, her mother couldn't take it away, couldn't tell her she didn't own it if she didn't buy it so she could sell it for booze and cigarettes.

Harlow stroked it's smooth curves and smiled, the familiar weight of it always cheered her up. After a few moments of lovingly tuning the guitar, she started strumming until the random chords merged into a familiar rift. She'd always loved this Pink Floyd song, she could play it with her eyes closed. The lyrics resonated with her, and the melody haunted her conjuring up vivid images in her head. After playing for a while Harlow sung along quietly

"So... So you think you can tell.

Heaven from hell,

Blue skies from the pain"

For some reason she got a lump in her throat, leaving her unable to finish singing the verse. Harlow carried on playing through the wave of emotion, swallowing in an attempt to stop her voice wavering when she sang the end of the song.

"We're just two lost souls.

Swimming in a fish bowl, Year after year.

Running over the same old ground.

What have we found?

The same old fears.

Wish you were here."

As soon as those four last words left her lips, she abruptly stopped. Her hand was shaking and the last note she had strummed still rung quietly in the air. She had loved that song for so long but the intensity she felt right then was completely new. It was like some strange omen, she couldn't help but feel it was somehow linked to the perplexing dream. She didn't understand it but she knew that much to be true. What was going on with her? She felt like she was losing her grip on reality.

Harlow raked a hand through her hair, frustrated. How was she supposed to concentrate on her guitar exam when she couldn't shake the image of that boy, that figment of her wild imagination, from her head? She blew out a long aggravated breath and shook her head. She refused to let some silly day dream ruin this for her, straightening her back Harlow cleared her thoughts and mindlessly played the first thing that came into her head.

The sound of the door opening caused Harlow to jump, making her blush for being so on edge. Her music teacher, Mr Newton, walked through the door and put his briefcase down by the cumbersome desk that sat in front of the chalk board. He was a short man, only just taller than Harlow herself, with badly receding hair the colour of dishwater. Through the small round glasses perched on the end of his nose, his little beady eyes looked critically at her. Mr Newton wasn't her biggest fan, and they'd had many a difference of opinion. He thought the music she preferred to play was just meaningless noise, and though she greatly disagreed - and often told him so- for her exam Harlow decided to do something he would like. She would have done anything to pass.

Mr Newton took out a notepad and pen then sat behind his desk which was just a little off to the left of where Harlow sat. Leaning forward in the creaking leather chair he looked at her with mild distaste "Well, Harlow, you know what to do. Start whenever you're ready" She swallowed and stretched her fingers before beginning to play. After a couple of minutes she began to relax, it was so much easier than she thought it would be.

Smiling to herself she looked up briefly and straight into the eyes of the person walking past the room. Her fingers stopped working properly and a horrible discordant note loudly rung out. For a while she forgot how to breathe, her mouth dried up completely and her eyes bugged out of her head. It was him. How could that be? Harlow's head was reeling. He had only walked past for a second but she knew it was him, she could have sworn she saw the same surprised recognition in those blazing green eyes for a split second before he disappeared out of view.

An angry sigh to her left reminded her where she was, she looked over to Mr Newton, who looked less than impressed. "It seems you still have the lack of concentration you need to complete a simple task. All I needed was a four minute composition to give you a pass." He looked down at his notes, a frown distorting his small features. "It's going to have to be a fail, Harlow, until you can learn to keep your mind on the task in hand." Without another word, Mr Newton grabbed his briefcase and left the room, leaving Harlow staring after him open mouthed. Her temper boiled, she couldn't believe that all that hard work had just gone to waste. She wanted to scream, to run after Mr Newton and make him change his mind. All the anger and frustration made her forget about the strangeness of what had actually just happened.

She packed her guitar away and stormed out of the room. Harlow felt like her world was being turned upside down, her mother's negligence, her misfit status at school, the strange dream that was haunting her, and now she had just failed her guitar exam and was also pretty sure she had gone insane. The weight of it all piled on top of Harlow, the searing injustice of it all and her simmering anger stepped up a notch. Before she could talk herself out of it she ran through the school, disregarding the dirty looks from the other pupils, and headed for the main entrance.

She burst through the front doors and was almost immediately drenched to the bone. Ignoring the torrential downpour and the biting cold, she walked down a few of steps that led away from the imposing school building and sat down, out of view from the students inside. Cold water ran down the bridge of her nose, soaked through her clothes and plastered her hair to her skin. With her fingers pressed into her temples, she shut her eyes, refusing to cry, she tried to push the emotions down before they flared out of control. She hated feeling so powerless, like she had no control over her life.

She felt so lonely in that moment, like she had nothing. Like there wasn't anyone who cared about her. She could just disappear off the face of the earth right now and no one would even notice. Harlow was suddenly aware that the rain was no longer running down her face. She opened her eyes and scowled to see the heavy rain still pouring down. She looked up to see a bright pink umbrella over her head, looking back she saw the person holding it. Wearing an immaculate white Mac was a girl.

She was slim with subtle curves, her shoulder length curly blonde hair bounced gently, despite the gale force wind and her slightly tanned skin was flawless. The girls' eyes were a captivating blue, the colour of the sky on a hot summer's day, and her pink lip-gloss coated lips were held in an easy smile. "Hey" Her voice matched her appearance perfectly; it was sweet and sounded almost musical. "Err, Hi?" Harlow's answer sounded a lot like a question. She stood up and moved so that they were on the same step, and still the girl was a head taller than her. She eyed the stranger uncertainly. Unperturbed the girl's smile widened, she stuck her hand out and Harlow gawked at her perfectly manicured pink nails. Hesitatingly, Harlow gently shook it, her cold soggy hand in the girl's warm dry one.

"I'm Amelia, but you can call me Amy" Harlow tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace, "Oh, um, I'm Harlow" She let go of Amy's hand and wiped her damp palm down her hoodie before realising it was also soaking wet. Harlow didn't know what to do next, next to Amy's glowing beauty she felt plain and overly self-conscious. Oblivious to the awkwardness Harlow was feeling, Amy carried on speaking "I'm new here, just started today in fact. You kinda looked like you needed someone to talk to, and I kinda need someone to show me around" she laughed and the elegant sound reverberated through the air between them.

Despite her sombre mood, Harlow smiled. It was hard to not let Amy's upbeat attitude rub off on her a little, and it was nice to be able to smile and not think about the strain of the day she'd had. "So, aren't you late for class?" Amy said lightly as she linked her arm through Harlow's, as if they had been friends for years. "Oh, yeah, I'm not going, I kind of needed a time out" Harlow half-mumbled, avoiding Amy's eyes by staring at the dark clouds and the endless sheet of rain falling from them. "Funny you should say that, 'cause I was thinking of skipping class and heading into town for a coffee, wanna come with?"

The mischievous grin on her face made Harlow laugh, it looked so out of place on her innocent face. Harlow's eyebrows shot up "It's your first day and you're already skipping classes?" she asked incredulously "Sure, come on Harlow, take a walk on the wild side!" The way Amy wiggled her eyebrows when she said that made her laugh a second time. "You know what, screw it! Let's go" And with that Amy's grin widened and she pulled Harlow down the rest of the steps and away from the school.

Chapter 3 - Strange Occurrences

The hot liquid in the cheap polystyrene cup scolded Harlow's freezing fingertips. Her hair had stopped dripping but her clothes we're still saturated making her shiver, though the hot chocolate she was holding was helping to warm her. The little coffee shop they sat in was small and quiet; the walls were made up of dark wood panels, the same colour as the floor and ceiling, and though it was cosy it was a lot like being in a box. The tables and chairs packed into the small room were a little care worn, and any available space was filled with different kinds of plants, they hung from the ceiling, were placed on windowsills and stood on either end of the serving counter making the warm room slightly humid.

The man behind the counter, who looked to be in his late fifties was welcoming and jovial and did a lot to brighten the dark room. His wispy salt-and-pepper hair stuck out at all angles and his stomach bulged under a red flannel shirt. He wiped is hands on the dish towel flung over his right shoulder and smiled warmly, joking with Harlow and Amy when they ordered their drinks. Which -despite the fact that it resembled muddy water- tasted a lot better than it looked, she was relieved to find. He shooed us away to take a seat and told us he'd bring the drinks over. An elderly lady was the only other person sat in the room, she sat on the far side, near the counter, drinking her tea and staring blankly at the gloom outside.

Harlow sat in a booth by the window that had old cracked seats with the stuffing busting out of the unravelling seams. Opposite her Amy looked like she had just stepped off a catwalk, not the mini storm that was currently raging outside. Her shiny blonde curls hung perfectly to her dainty shoulders, her blue eyes were cheerful and her skin glowed as if it was lit from within. She had taken off the pristine white Mac to reveal an expensive looking navy blue cashmere sweater and dark, tight fitting jeans that fit snugly to her subtle curves. And despite the water collecting on the floor outside her ballet pumps were perfectly dry, unlike Harlow's own feet, which were freezing due to the small puddles that had formed in her canvass shoes.

Harlow did her best to repress the pang of jealousy she felt, especially when she caught a glimpse of herself in the window's reflection. She currently looked like a drowned rat, her hair was knotted from the wind and rain and her skin was deathly pale because of the cold. Her dark, damp clothes hung lankly off her small frame and her slightly plump lips were blue. She gripped the cup tightly, trying to soak some of the warmth into herself and stop the shivering. She blew across the top of the steaming hot chocolate and tentatively took a sip, sighing to herself as it left a warm trail down her throat.

"You look like you might catch hypothermia or some crap if you don't dry out soon" Amy exclaimed, eyeing her critically "Come on" and before Harlow had time to reply, Amy had put her Cappuccino down and picked up a huge white bag from beside her, that she hadn't noticed before. Grabbing her hand she motioned for her to put the drink down, and when Harlow just stared blankly back she huffed and snatched the drink herself and put it on the table, she then dragged her from her seat, across the room and through a door marked as the ladies bathroom.

The small room had the same dark décor as the main room, and along the wall to the left was a row of sinks with a large mirror hung horizontally above them. Opposite the sinks were some hand dryers and directly in front, three stalls. It smelt of heavy floral air freshener and the large lights above gave the room warmth.

"What are you doing?" Harlow gaped, mystified at Amy's back, she had put her massive bag on the side next to the sink and was routing through it intently, "I'm looking for something" She replied distractedly. She stood awkwardly and avoided looking in the mirror, waiting for Amy to explain why she was stood in the bathroom. "Ah Ha!" Harlow jumped slightly and looked to Amy, who held a hair brush in one hand and a black jumper in the other.

Amy smiled triumphantly at her and Harlow frowned. "Go on in there and take off your pants and top" Amy instructed while giving her a slight nudge towards the stalls. "What? I am not taking my clothes off!" she looked at Amy incredulously "Yes, you are, you'll freeze to death in those" she said pointing dismissively at her soggy clothes. "Come on, pass them over to me and I'll dry them for you" She motioned towards the hand dryers and gave Harlow another prod towards the stalls. For a moment she just stood there shifting uneasily before realising she was still shivering. Rolling her eyes at Amy's impatient sigh she trudged into the stall.

After peeling the wet fabric from her cold skin, Harlow chucked them over to Amy. She looked down self-consciously at her body, even alone she felt uncomfortable in her underwear in a public bathroom. She heard a rolling noise, and something tearing, then Amy's hand appeared above the door clutching a bunch of paper towels "Here dry yourself off a little" Harlow smiled, she had only just met this girl, but already she was being kinder to her than anyone else had ever been. "Thanks" she answered and began to rub her frigid skin with the rough paper towels.

The noise of the hand dyer cut off any chance of a conversation and Harlow waited patiently for her clothes to be passed over. After a few minutes the noise stopped, and the silence rung out. She could hear Amy muttering something that sounded like "Crappy dryer" and then huffed out a sigh. "Is everything ok?" Harlow asked uncertainly. "Uh, yeah! Just gonna use some paper towels to dry these up a bit more" the overly enthusiastic tone in Amy's voice made her a little worried, what was going on out there? After a moment of silence, the lights above brightened almost to the point of being blinding, then dimmed again, leaving blotches in her eyes. Harlow's brow creased, "What the hell was that?" she muttered to herself "What was what?" Amy's voice had shot up an octave.

She blinked to dispel the spots that danced in front of her vision. "The lights, they just went really bright for a moment. That was weird" she said staring at the offending lights above. Amy laughed a little tensely "They did? Huh, probably a power surge or something, nothing to worry about" Harlow's frown increased, wondering what the strange tone in her voice was. "Anyway," she continued quickly "Your stuff is dry" Her clothes appeared above her head and Harlow forgot all about the lights, she was just happy at the prospect of being clothed again as she reached to get them.

Her fingertips tingled as they touched the warm, dry fabric, the peculiar sensation travelled languidly up her arm and across her body. The tingling became a glowing warmth, serene and calm, like a balmy summer sun shone down on her, warming her chilled bones. A smile broadened across her face, which turned into a scowl as the feeling fizzled out until it was gone completely and Harlow wasn't entirely sure she hadn't imagined it. She looked intently at the clothes, totally perplexed. She was surprised they had dried so quickly, but was more worried about what she had just felt. She looked to the ceiling in exasperation. For the second time that day, she was sure she was going insane.

Trying to put images of being carted off to a psychiatrist to check her mental stability to the back of her mind, Harlow dressed quickly, sighing happily as the warm clothes wrapped around her. Feeling a lot better, she stepped out of the cubical, only to be faced with her reflection in the large mirror to her left. Her hair was matted and windswept, and her pale skin looked deathly white, which wasn't helped by her grey eyes wide with shock at her appearance. She looked like the un-dead. Amy's reflection appeared next to her "Here, use this. And put this jumper on under your jacket so you don't freeze to death" She said handing Harlow a hairbrush and black sweater that looked really expensive, her thoughtfulness really took her by surprise.

After detangling her dark hair, she handed Amy the brush back, Harlow looked down at her feet "Thanks" she mumbled awkwardly, the girl's kindness made her uncomfortable; in her experience people were only nice if they expected something in return. As if sensing her thoughts she chimed in "Don't sweat it, it's just a jumper, and anyway it's so last year" Her mocking tone and over exaggerated eye roll put Harlow at ease, and made her chuckle. "People aren't usually so nice to me; I'm kind of a loser. But don't worry, you'll have no problem fitting in with the cool cliques at school." She hoped the envy hadn't noticeably coloured her voice. Amy snorted inelegantly "As if! That isn't really my scene kid, I prefer people with substance" she said grinning and giving Harlow a conspiring wink, she made her way out of the bathroom.

Back at the table, the hot chocolate had cooled enough for Harlow to sip it without burning her tongue and the girls sat in a comfortable silence. The rain outside had subdued to a drizzle, the sky had began to clear and even the wind wasn't whipping the trees back and forth as much. She watched a rain drop slide slowly down the window pane leaving a watery track behind it, and tried her best to keep her thoughts off the events of the day. Her head felt like mush, she was finding it difficult to make any sense of a lot of today. As if reading her thoughts, Amy cocked her head making her look almost bird-like and gazed at Harlow inquisitively "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm okay, just kind of had a weird day" Her mind drifted back to the dream and that mysterious boy, then thinking she had seen him walking past the music room. Weird was an understatement. "Tell me about it, it'll make you feel better" Amy smiled encouragingly. Harlow was about to refuse she had only just met the girl after all, she didn't want to scare her off with crazy ramblings oh her horrible day, but as she met eyes with Amy she felt a strong impulse to tell her everything. It was yet another strange thing to add to her list, Harlow wasn't the kind of girl who shared secrets or let anyone in enough to see her true self. Especially a stranger she knew nothing about. And yet she felt herself unable to look away from the pretty blonde in front of her, unable to stop herself leaning towards her, and telling her everything.

Amy nodded in sympathy when she told her about her mother, as if she knew exactly how she felt, It made Harlow wonder if she had parents who didn't care about her. But she was sure the blonde haired, blue eyed beauty couldn't possibly be the product of parents who didn't love their daughter, she was too flawless to come from a dysfunctional family. She was about to ask her what her family was like, but she felt another urge to tell Amy all about the rest of her day, before Harlow had time to think it was weird to suddenly want to gush about herself, she was speaking again, almost without meaning to. The words just poured from her without any real conscious thought.

She started to ramble on about the dream, just thinking about it muddled her thoughts so she told it all out of order, saying the first thing she thought of, "It felt familiar and safe. And I was on my own at first, but it was so stunning, and I knew it somehow, so it was ok. I was just wondering round, the sky was so clear and the moon was huge, I felt so calm. Then he was there, this guy. He was amazing, so beautiful..." Harlow got stuck for words, nothing did him justice. Any words she thought of seemed wrong to describe that boy.

"I've never seen anyone like him, he was perfect. The way he looked at me, it was so strange. So Intense. I didn't understand why he was saying the things he was. Like he didn't want me there, or didn't know why I was there" she swallowed hard, a feeling of sorrow washed over her, why didn't he want her there? "And it was the best and worse dream I've ever had, I didn't understand it at all. But it doesn't matter because I'd give anything to go back to that place" hearing herself say that brought her up short, she meant it though, she did want to go back, even if she didn't understand why. Just the thought of being there again, with him, gave her butterflies.

Harlow braced herself to tell Amy the next part, the part where she went completely mad, "Then when I was doing my guitar exam, I ruined it. I failed it because...because I saw him walk past the music room and I-" the words 'couldn't concentrate' died in her mouth as she was cut off by Amy choking on her cappuccino "You what?!" she croaked out. Harlow looked self-consciously at her drink, wishing she hadn't told her. "I saw him" she whispered fiercely, so quietly she was sure Amy wouldn't hear, but when she looked up the girl stared back at her, eyes like saucers. Strangely though, she didn't look shocked, she was staring at her in what looked remarkably like awe.

To her credit, Amy composed herself quickly. If she was thinking that she was sat with a girl who had clearly lost her mind, she didn't show it. She grinned at Harlow impishly "Ooooh sexy dream! Oh my god you could be psychic! What'd he look like?" Beneath the playful smile, she thought she saw an intense look flash across Amy's pretty features, but it was gone before she could be certain. Harlow wanted to know how Amy could be so calm about it, act like it's completely normal to dream about someone, and then think you see them walking past. But yet again, before she could question anything, she felt the impulse to talk again. It was like a subconscious nudge to tell her exactly what she wanted to hear.

Her slow working brain scrambled to explain what was happening, Harlow felt as if she were putting a puzzle together, each piece like a fragment of her sanity, but none of it was fitting together, and bits were missing making her head feel jumbled. There was a bigger picture she couldn't yet see, but she shied away from putting the pieces she had together, for fear of what she would see, her inevitable fall from sanity into the abyss of madness. People from dreams don't just materialise into reality, and Amy was not planting thoughts in her head. She had to get a grip, there was a logical explanation for everything, she just hadn't thought of it yet.

Maybe she was just so desperate for friends she was willing to tell all to keep her on side, maybe the boy she had seen wasn't the guy from her dream at all. Maybe it is perfectly normal to get strange feelings off clothes, like static or something. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Harlow felt a bubble of hysteria in her throat, but she fought it, she refused to believe she was really losing her mind. Instead she gave in and told Amy about the boy from her dream. She described him as best she could, but the words fell flat. They couldn't compare to his intense perfection.

Just talking about him made her heart beat in a rapid tattoo, the thought of those emerald eyes on her made Harlow flush, her face burned and her palms began to sweat. Her reaction was astonishing; she had to keep reminding herself it was all just a dream. He wasn't real. The thought made her sad, it was devastating to think she would only ever see that face in her mind, that she couldn't touch him, couldn't wrap herself in his safe arms, like she desperately wanted to. Harlow looked at Amy, who stared back at her, open mouthed she looked in complete shock but she couldn't comprehend why. Maybe Amy finally thought she had chosen the wrong girl to befriend.

Harlow's face now blazed with embarrassment, she cursed herself for telling Amy everything. She had only just made friends with her and she had already managed to scare her off. She looked down at the hot chocolate in her hand, it had gone cold and she swirled it round the polystyrene cup trying not to look at the girl she sat opposite. The strip lights above flickered, a bright pulse that made her head snap back to look at it. It was almost too fast for Harlow to notice, and then a phone ringing distracted her. Amy took a small silver gadget out her bag and after pressing a few buttons, frowned at it.

She heaved a sigh and looked nervously at Harlow "I gotta go, but I'll catch up with you later, okay?" Before she could reply Amy grabbed her stuff and left quickly. She sat at the table, alone, and tried not to feel bereft at the girl's departure. The room seemed suddenly very dark and dismal, and Harlow turned from it to look out the window while she composed herself. The rain had stopped now, and it looked more like an autumn day, she watched the clouds travel slowly across the grey sky moving to cast shadows over a different place. She wished in that moment, so severely that she could do the same, leave here and never look back. She could feel herself spiralling toward depression, so she quickly gathered her belongings and left the café. She had to get home before the tears came.

Chapter 4 - New Found Kinship

The rush of air hit Harlow like a brick wall when she stepped outside, it was so cold it took her breath. Though the weather was considerably less severe than it was before she arrived at the café, the slight wind that was blowing her hair into her eyes was bitter, making her eternally grateful to Amy for drying her clothes. She pulled her hood up and tucked her chin down to avoid the brunt of the chilly weather. She felt deflated and worn out after a confusing and strange day and for once she couldn't wait to get home. She just hoped Lisa wasn't in - She couldn't deal with her right now.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she made her way down the street to the bus stop. She kept her eyes to the floor, weaving diligently between the meandering pedestrians, hoping to go unnoticed. If anyone recognised her she'd be dragged back to school and in the headmaster's office before she knew it, and in a town as small as the one she lived in that was pretty likely to happen. The bus stop was just in sight when she noticed the bus was coming, with an inward groan she began to run to catch it, the bus service was poor and if she missed it she would be waiting for a long time for the next one to come along.

The bus pulled in and a few people stepped off. Harlow ran faster making her legs burn but just as she reached the doors she hit something hard. The momentum she had built up caused her to bounce off the hard object - A person she realised - and fall backwards towards the ground at an alarming speed. She tried to keep herself upright, gripping wildly at anything she could, she caught hold of the person's t-shirt but she was falling too fast and ended up pulling them with her. She landed with a painful "Oof!" followed by another as the full weight of the person fell on top of her.

A sharp pain shot through her skull and everything blurred as a wave of dizziness shook her. When her vision cleared she was transfixed by two deep pools of silken lavender liquid, Harlow was so dumbfounded she couldn't look away. She could hear a faint noise -it was velvety smooth- but she couldn't concentrate on what it was, she was too busy trying to figure out what she was looking at. She felt a pressure on top of her all the way to her toes, and then remembered falling over, which managed to shake her out of her stupor "Ouch!" Harlow winced at the throbbing pain at the back of her head. "Can you hear me? Hello? Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there" It was that noise again she thought to herself, then realised it came from the person she had pulled over.

It was then that she figured out what the beautiful violet pools were. "You're eyes are a weird colour" she said densely "Nothing wrong with your vision then" His silky voice held amusement and a smile lit up his face. They were almost nose to nose and she could feel his cool breath against her skin, she then became conscious of the fact she was on the floor and a stranger was pressed closely to her. She blushed furiously and struggled to push the guy off her so she could get up "Whoa there! You had a nasty knock to the head, you shouldn't be moving, you could be concussed" He shifted to kneel next to her bt held her down by her shoulder. He looked into her eyes and Harlow's thoughts scattered as she was captivated by the striking colour of his, they were so unusual.

"Well," his voice was low, almost a whisper "Your pupils look normal. I think you're gonna live" He smirked and moved to stand up; he was so graceful Harlow wondered if he was a dancer. He held out a hand to help her up, but she was too busy gawping at him to notice. Now that he was stood up she had a clear view of him, he was tall -maybe 6"5- tanned and had "surfer style" sandy blonde hair. His hooded eyes stood out on his face, the colour stark against his skin tone. His mouth held into a light smile framed a perfect set of white teeth. She blinked dumbly, struggling for words, until he wiggled his long tapered fingers at her to bring her attention back to the hand he was offering her.

Harlow blushed again, she had been blatantly gawking at him, but he didn't seem to mind, in fact his easy smile had morphed into a cocky grin. A mix of her embarrassment and his self-assuredness made her angry, she petulantly ignored his hand and attempted to get up herself, she lumbered herself upright, then realised she had moved to quickly as her world titled precariously sideways. "Steady there" he said putting a securing hand on her upper arm; she clenched her teeth trying to stop the flush creeping into her cheeks. "I'm fine" she answered coolly, stepping out of his grasp.

"Okay," he held his hands up in front of him in mock surrender "I'm sorry, I was just checking you were alright. And as I said, sorry for running into you" He smiled warmly and Harlow instantly forgot about being angry, she also appreciated his chivalry, taking the blame when it was obviously her who ran into him. "Does your head hurt?" he said gesturing with a nod. She reached up to touch it wincing at the pain that throbbed from the point she had hit, "A little, I'll be okay; I just need to get home." It was at that point that Harlow realised that the bus had long gone, and there were a few people staring openly at them, they must have seen the spectacular display of her clumsiness. She cringed again and this time she couldn't stop the blush colouring her cheeks.

She decided to stop the whole embarrassing ordeal right there by choosing to walk home, rather than having to make awkward conversation with a stranger who she had just been in a very compromising situation with. She pulled her hood further down to cover her face, muttered an incoherent apology and goodbye to him, and then proceeded to walk away as quickly as she could. She didn't get very far before he caught up to her, and despite her quick pace he kept in step with her with no effort at all. "Mason" he said sticking his hand in front of her, "What?" she replied "My name" he grinned "it's Mason, just thought I'd introduce myself since we were getting so well acquainted back there" He wiggled a suggestive eyebrow at her and her face burned up again.

He seemed to enjoy her embarrassment, he was laughing at her, which made her angry again "It wasn't like that!" she spat back at him, stopping dead. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry, I was just kidding!" He stepped in front of her; to his credit he did look genuinely sorry. "Let me start over." He held his hand out again "Hi I'm Mason" Her anger dissipated again and Harlow rolled her eyes "I'm-"her name got stuck in her throat as she took his hand in hers, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she got an icy chill down her spine, her stomach knotted and her mouth watered as if she was about to be sick. She couldn't really explain the feeling she got when she touched Mason's skin, it just felt wrong. She wasn't scared, but her instincts were telling her she should be. She was careful to keep her face still, she didn't let any of the emotions she felt show visibly.

She was baffled; she had no idea why she should be scared of Mason. He seemed like a nice guy, a little cocky, but nothing that should be causing her to feel like something was seriously off about him. Her mind reeled, she was so sick of feeling like she was losing her mind today and so she ignored it all. Only a few seconds had passed, Mason looked at her expectantly and despite everything inside her screaming at her not to tell him her name, she pushed the worrying thoughts away and replied "-Harlow" she thought she saw something indescribable cross Mason's features twisting them into something grotesque -but only for a split second- Harlow snatched her hand away and instantly the bad feeling was gone and Mason was back to the good looking guy he had been a second ago.

She gritted her teeth wondering why her mind chose today to slip into insanity; she just had to hope she was doing a good job of covering it up. After years of being the loner, two people have tried to befriend her in the same day, she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity. And so she plastered a smile on her face, and forced down all her craziness and strange emotions "So, Harlow, that's an unusual name. Bet you're the only Harlow in town aren't you?" they were now walking again, it was an hour's walk to her house from here, but Harlow thought it would do her good -Maybe it would help her to clear her head.

"Yeah, as far as I know" she responded eventually. She didn't want to talk about herself so she switched topics, "Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around before" he smiled as if he had just been reminded of a funny joke "No, I guess you just haven't had the good fortune of running in to me yet," his smile widened "Well now you have, quite literally" this time she smiled at his light mocking instead of getting embarrassed and angry "I'm home schooled, and I don't get out much, I'm kind of a loser, actually" they both laughed, though she was more amused by the absurdness of what he just said. There was no way that Mason could ever be described as a loser, she was willing to bet he was just saying that to put her at ease.

"Speaking of school, isn't that where you should be?" He raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she sighed "Yeah I should be I'm just having a bad day. I needed to get out of there" she rubbed her neck and looked to the floor, she hoped he wouldn't ask about it, she didn't want to talk about today -to anyone- especially after the way Amy reacted. He must have sensed her reluctance to say anything more about it because he bumped her shoulder playfully "Hey, no need to explain it to me, I should be at home right now learning about World War Two. But my dad..." he sighed and the look on his face was very similar to the way Harlow looked whenever she had to talk about Lisa, ashamed and upset "He's just hard to be around"

She smiled weakly, Harlow was getting the impression his dad and her mother had a lot in common, and so she could relate completely with how he felt. "You live down this way?" she pointed down the road, they were out of the main part of town now and in to the quieter areas, there was no one around and Harlow felt relieved. It was now much less likely that she would be seen and promptly dragged back into school. "Yeah I live out on Black Oak Farm" he said gesturing in the general direction of the farm. She knew where he meant, it was in the southern part of the wooded area that was behind her house, though it was on the other side of the road that split the forest in two. She had thought that Black Oak was empty; it was certainly no longer used as a farm, but Harlow nodded anyway.

They walked in amicable silence for a while, just enjoying each others' company without pointless small talk. She looked at the houses they were walking past, this was one of the few places in town that had been modernized, all white picket fenced, manicured lawns and untarnished red bricks - This was the area the majority of her school came from - and compared to them, her house looked like it should be condemned. "Do you live round here" he nodded to the perfect houses, with their perfect shiny cars. "No" she looked to the ground and didn't add anymore, she didn't want to tell Mason she lived in the area mainly inhabited by the drunks, drug addicts and general low-life's of the town. He didn't ask her to specify where she did live; he just nodded and smiled slightly.

Harlow appreciated him not pressing her about the details of her life; he seemed to know not to ask. It was a breath of fresh air to be around someone who just wanted to be in her company, not just pump her for gossip fodder, which was the only reason anyone in school ever talked to her. It was 2pm now and they were coming up to the woods her house backed on to, across the road was the second half of the woods that Mason's house was in. School didn't finish for another hour but she doubted Lisa would be home, and if she was it was extremely likely she would be asleep. "You gonna be in trouble for skipping out on your history lesson?" she asked, looking at Mason through her peripheral. She saw the muscle in his jaw tick and he raked a hand through his hair messing it up even more, though it just added to his good looks Harlow thought.

"Yeah probably, nothing I can't handle" he tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. She turned her head to look at him properly, his lavender eyes had darkened and the shocking colour of them left her speechless the beauty and sadness in those eyes was breath-taking. Harlow did her best to convey her shared empathy, his smile lifted a little and she felt a kinship between them, a horrible cruel link they both had to each other. A parent that should never have been allowed to bring up a child. It was something she would never wish on anyone else, a childhood of screaming and shouting, bereft of care or love; it was no environment for a child. They had a silent understanding, neither of them wished to talk about it, but both knew it existed and found comfort in that.

The connection between them made Harlow forget all about what had happened earlier, now she just felt peaceful and calm. She was glad of this after a stressful day and she found it a lot easier to push all concerns of her going insane out of her thoughts. They had stopped walking now they had reached the woods and stood facing each other. Harlow smiled coyly, looking at her feet as she fidgeted, lightly kicking the leaves covering the floor. "I live on the other side of the woods" she said gesturing behind her, Mason smiled back, his eyes looked liquid again, capturing her gaze "How haven't I met you before? We live so close" she shrugged and bit her lip, trying to stop another blush. She didn't know how she could have never met him before when he lived in such close proximity, but she was happy to know her was so nearby.

"Well I better get going" she said, still smiling dumbly he nodded, but just as she turned away he reached for her hand. Harlow took in a sharp breath as an icy finger trailed down her spine, her mind was screaming "Run!" at her, over and over again it was so loud she was shocked when she saw no trace on Mason's face that he heard it too. She fought to keep her face stoic; she knew she mustn't let him see what she was really feeling. She forced herself not to snatch her hand back and smiled as best she could "I'll see you around, okay?" she was surprised to hear she kept her voice from shaking "That's a promise" he smiled charmingly and she hoped she was imagining the menacing edge to his voice. She swallowed and nodded fervently, she didn't trust herself to speak again.

Without letting her happy façade drop for a single second, she slid her hand out of his -resisting the urge to wipe it on her jeans- and turned to leave. She was still trying to curb her urge to run as fast as she could as she walked into the woods, and made herself look back to see Mason still stood there, watching her go. She held her hand up to wave, it was shaking and she had started to sweat. He smiled sweetly and saluted her, which strangely made her laugh. She spent the rest of the walk through the woods arguing with herself over whether she had imagined what she just felt, with everything else she had experienced today, she had to believe she had a very overactive imagination, either that or she was definitely losing her mind.

Chapter 5 - Secrets and Lies

Harlow paused at the back door, holding on to the handle, preparing herself. She held her breath as she opened the door, cringing when the rusty hinges let out a sharp creaking noise that cut through the silence. She froze to the spot and waited; listening for any signs of life in the darkened house, after a few moments she let out her breath, relieved, and entered. She shut the door and leaned back against it, letting her head thud back onto the wood, she closed her eyes and just stood there, listening to the sound of the clock ticking away loudly. Now she was home and back to normality, it was so easy to disassociate herself with the strange things that had been happening to her all day, to pass them off as nothing more than her wild imagination.

She walked through to the hallway, not bothering to turn on any lights; she just needed to be in her room -her sanctuary- and forget about the entire day. Just as she put her foot on the first step of the staircase, something moving in the living room caught her eye. She turned to see the television was turned on and muted; a black and white movie flickered across the screen, a beautiful woman with wide teary eyes stared imploringly at a man with dark hair slicked back, he had a hat in one hand and a long coat in the other -he was leaving her, Harlow guessed. It took her a moment to realise she that the TV hadn't been on when she left, she then noticed the smoke that hung thickly in the air and the half empty glass of whiskey stained with red lipstick that stood on the small glass table next to the grey sofa.

Harlow's heart sunk, she turned away from the open living room door and continued up the stairs. She tried to be as quiet as she could, but as she put her weight onto the fourth step she heard the sound she hated more than anything, one that made her feel nervous, scared and a horrible revulsion, always followed quickly by overwhelming shame. Her mother's voice. She knew it was an awful, tragic thing, to hate the sound of her mother's voice - it was something she should love, something that should fill her with joy, but Harlow couldn't make herself feel that way. And even though her feelings were justified and all her mothers' doing, she still felt the sharp stab of guilt for feeling such dreadful things about the woman.

"What're you doing home?" Her slightly slurred words held venom that came with no effort at all; after so many years it was just naturally how Lisa spoke to her. She tried to reply, but the words lodged in her throat and stuck to her tongue, so she just stood motionless on the stairs, staring at her feet and wishing she was anywhere but in that house right then. Lisa sat up slowly with her back to Harlow; her dark auburn hair was matted and tied back at the nape of her neck. When her mother turned around to see why she hadn't answered, Harlow drew in a sharp breath. Even now, after she had so long to get used to it, Lisa's appearance still shocked her; her brown eyes were flat, lifeless and blood shot, her lips dry and cracked, and her skin a tired grey that aged her way beyond her years.

It was such a stark contrast to the woman in the photos that hung on the nicotine stained walls around them. That woman was always smiling, full of life and love, Harlow didn't know that woman, but she liked to imagine she did. The woman in the photos would have made a perfect mother, loving and caring and happy. But that was not the Lisa who sat before her now, no; this was a cold hard shell left behind after her father broke her heart and ran away, no emotions save for hate and resentment. Lisa had been an angry and bitter woman when he left and things deteriorated so quickly when the drinking took hold of her. Lisa had never loved Harlow, but before she started drinking she was just impassive and distant, but now she had a burning hate for her daughter, she was just a constant reminder of what she had cost her. The love of her life. And Harlow paid for it dearly, she often mourned the loss of the doting mother she never had.

Harlow had known from a very young age that her mother held her responsible for her father leaving. And she had to agree, after all, it couldn't just be a coincidence that almost immediately after Lisa told him he was to be a father, he disappeared off the face of the planet, never to be seen or heard from again. She knew nothing about him, and she had learnt not to ask, the reaction from Lisa had been terrifying to a seven year old Harlow. She had only asked what his name was and her face shone with unbridled heartbreak so raw that even as a little girl she understood she had asked the wrong question, then came the rage. That was the first time Lisa hit her, she had snarled "That's none of your business, you stupid little brat. Don't ever think you have the right to talk about him" and slapped her across the face. An angry red mark blossomed across her porcelain skin and tears filled her eyes but she didn't cry; she didn't want to make it any worse, so she just stood, transfixed, while Lisa turned her back on her and locked herself in her bedroom for the rest of the day.

Bringing herself back to the present moment she looked up to see Lisa's lip curled at her in disgust, showing off her teeth tarnished by nicotine and alcohol. She rose unsteadily and walked round the sofa gripping her half empty glass of whiskey on the way past, spilling drops of it on the floor as she stumbled towards the stairs where Harlow stood. She pressed back against the wall and braced herself, Lisa drunk the remaining amber liquid in the glass down in one gulp as she stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding on to the banister for support. "I said" Lisa struggled to focus, pointing her empty glass at Harlow "what're you doing home? School hasn't finished yet" Harlow hid her surprise at Lisa; it was unusual for her to know the current time and even more so for her to remember what time school finished.

She swallowed thickly and thought desperately of an answer that would placate her mother and allow her to escape to her room. "I...err...I...We...And...Um...I-I-I-", "Spit it out you stupid girl, and don't you dare lie to me!" Lisa shouted cutting off Harlow's stuttering, she took a steadying breath and opted for a simple lie, while fiercely hoping she didn't get caught out, if Lisa found out she was lying, she would be in a lot of trouble "I didn't feel well so they let me come home early" she half whispered, eyes to the ground, silently begging her mother to let her leave. Harlow peered up to see Lisa eyeing her "You don't look sick," she curled her lip again and then put her whiskey glass to her lips, finding it empty she looked at it, confused, as though she hadn't remembered finishing it off, she turned and went to refill it, seemingly forgetting all about Harlow.

She took this as her dismissal and hurriedly scrambled up the stairs and into her room shutting the door behind her as quietly as she could. Now that Lisa was drinking herself into oblivion she would hopefully forget the conversation she just had with Harlow and wouldn't look into it anymore. If not then she would have some horrible consequences to deal with. Breathing a heavy sigh she moved away from the door and fell back onto her bed, she stared up at the bare ceiling clearing away all the events and thoughts she had been plagued with throughout day and tried her best to relax.

Her small rectangular room was completely void of everything but the essentials; her bed was to the left of the door along the wall with a small bedside table next to it with a lamp and an alarm clock on top. In the corner adjacent to the bed was a chest of drawers which had only school work on top of it and the was filled with more work, stationary, bits of junk and some clothes, next to the drawers was a bay window, she often sat on the window seat wrapped in her blanket and looking out longingly to the woods, if she could she would have spent all her time in those woods, it felt like an escape, she could lose herself in there and pretend she was far away from here, from her mother and from her life altogether. But she was hardly ever allowed to leave the house and so Harlow had built her sanctuary inside instead.

Her little hideout was out of site from her mother's prying eyes and destructive temper, hidden where no one else knew or thought to look. Hidden in plain sight, Harlow smiled placidly to herself as she got up off the bed and made her way across the room to the only other thing in her blank room that took up most of the wall to the left of the door - the built in wardrobes - it consisted of two panels, the static panel was made of wood and painted white, the other was a full length mirror that slid over the wood to open the wardrobe. She took off her socks and shoes and let her toes curl into the beige carpet, then she reached out to slide open the wardrobe door. Harlow gazed at the clothes tightly packed into the wardrobe, ran her hand fondly over them, after the strain of today she was comforted so much by this sight, exactly the same as always, she was immensely glad to have one familiar thing to cling to.

In school she stuck to jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies that she had saved endlessly for, she did this mostly so she didn't stick out - to blend in with the crowd, to go unnoticed- but also because it was what she felt most comfortable in around others. When she was on her own, however, she preferred to be a little more adventurous. On her own, in the comfort of her room she could pretend to be someone else, she had spent countless hours in charity shops and other second hand stores trawling through clothes to find pretty silk dresses and vintage blouses. The beautiful girly clothes she kept stashed to one end of her wardrobe were an escape for Harlow, an escape from herself, and from her life, she could wear them on her own, out of sight and pretend for a while, that she had the life she had always dreamed of.

She often imagined she was the person who had previously owned the item of clothing she wore; usually she liked to think of some carefree music student in university, independent, happy, surrounded by friends. It was a reverie that Harlow greatly valued when she couldn't stand to be herself anymore, which was increasingly more frequent. Harlow stripped to her underwear in a rush, tangling herself up in a splay of limbs and dark clothing. Today was definitely a day where she needed to be someone else for a while; reaching behind the wooden panel she slid a stack of plain cardboard boxes off the top shelf towards the open wardrobe door. Carefully she pulled them down and set them on the floor, she sat crossed legged in front of the boxes and lifted the lid off the top one.

Harlow sighed serenely as she fingered the beading of the silk dress folded neatly in the box, she gently lifted it out and put it beside her, she smiled fondly, looking into the box at the rest of the clothes in it and then replaced the lid. She then opened the second box and retrieved one of the pairs of shoes out of it, A pair of cream ballet flats which tied round the ankle with a piece of ribbon. Deciding to forgo the jewellery in the third, smaller, box she stacked them up and lifted them back onto the shelf and pushed them along, out of view. She then leant down to pick up the dress; it was icy blue with spaghetti straps and pearly coloured beads covering the sweetheart neckline, forming a pattern that reminded Harlow of inverted ocean waves. She slid the dress over her head and let it tumble softly over her body, the cold silk caressed her skin and sent Goosebumps shivering up her arms, she ran her hands down the length of the dress and smiled to herself. Harlow stepped in to the ballet shoes and tied the ribbons round her ankles into a bow.

She looked into the mirrored panel of the wardrobe door and felt all tension and stress leaving her body. She usually avoided the full length mirror - apart from to do a quick check of her appearance before she left for school - but when she wore these clothes, she felt like a different person, she looked like a different person, so she didn't mind seeing herself reflected there, it was like looking at a picture of the person she wanted to be. The dress hugged her upper body snugly to the waist, before hanging gracefully off her hips in a swathe of fabric to her knees accentuating the minimal curves she had; the colour was a complete contrast to her dark, almost black hair and made her eyes look like molten silver.

Harlow wished she had the confidence to where theses clothes in public, but she hated the thought of being looked at, scrutinized and judged, especially by the other students at her school, which was exactly why she wore clothes that made her fade into the background. She felt better than she had all day, and was now eager to lose herself in her little ramshackle haven. She parted her clothes as best she could to make a little opening, and stepped over the various boxes and shoes that lay under the clothes hung on the bar, together the boxes and clothes created a wall that partitioned off the space at the back of the wardrobe.

The small void was supposed to be for storage, but long ago Harlow cleared it out, put up the makeshift wall made out of her belongings and kept the space behind to hide the things she didn't want anyone - most of all her mother - to know about. Reaching behind her she closed the wardrobe door and pushed the clothes back into the space she had created, closing herself in completely. She savoured the moment of absolute darkness for a while before running her hand blindly across the wall until she reached the push light she had stuck to the wall, the small enclosure brightened a little, she then turned on the rest of the push lights, there were six of them altogether and the small lights merged together to give out a warm glow.

The floor was lined with various pillows and sheets to make it comfortable, and Harlow settled on them. All along the back wall drawings, poems, lyrics and various random scribblings created a colourful collage, this was the only place she dare display them. She had done a lot of portraits of her idols; her favourite was one she did of Gerard Way it was all in black and white except for his fire-engine-red hair. He was someone she looked up to so much, he had dared to chase his dreams and succeeded, she wished so much she could follow his footsteps. She opened one of the two shoe boxes that sat in the corner by her feet; it contained her most precious items, CD's, letters from a pen-pal she had a while back -who had long ago given up writing back- clippings from magazines about colleges she wanted to go to and things that inspired her. And the one thing she cherished most, a picture of her Dad.

She had found it in the spare room, it had slipped between the floor boards and only a tiny bit had been sticking out, Harlow had fished it out and when she saw it she had been speechless. It was blurry and out of focus, she couldn't make out any of his features, but it was him. It was all she had of him, and she loved it dearly. The picture showed a happy couple -her mother and father- with arms around each other, grinning, there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't wish she had grown up in that family, in some alternate universe where her dad didn't leave and her mother loved her. She smiled fondly at the photograph then placed it carefully back in the box, it was the only picture left of her dad, the rest had been destroyed by Lisa, her mother told her she had burnt them so she didn't have to look at his traitorous face anymore, so Harlow treasured the photo more than anything else.

Placing the lid back, she opened the other shoebox, inside it were her drawing materials and paper, she took them out and spent the next hour, drawing, scrawling the random lyrics that popped in her head, and trying her best to not think about today, especially the green eyed boy. She woke with a start to the sound of the door banging -she had fallen asleep in the wardrobe- her heart jumped into her throat, she sat straining to hear any other noises, eventually she could hear the sound of people talking, her mother and a man. The male voice was familiar and when Harlow realised it was her head master from school she almost burst into tears. She'd been found out; Lisa would know she had lied to her. She leaped up, almost banging her head, and raced to get out of the wardrobe, she changed quickly back into her usual clothes and tried to steady her breathing. She slumped down by the door, trying to hear the conversation, waiting for the inevitable.

Eventually he left and Harlow wanted to run after him, to scream, to ask him if he realised what he had done. She hadn't been able to hear what they were talking about, but she didn't need to, she knew he had told her mother she had skipped classes and left early without permission. She tried her best to fight back the fear and anxiety building in her chest, counting the seconds, Lisa would be coming soon. Far too quickly she heard her mother yell "Harlow!" her blood turned to ice in her veins, she hugged her arms around her body and waited for the wrath of her mother. She heard thunderous footsteps making their way up the stairs, her breath was coming in short gasps, and she was shaking. When she heard the thumping on her bedroom door, she jumped up and backed away. Without waiting for an invitation, Lisa barged in, fury written all over her face, contorting her features. "You lying little bitch! Think you could get away with it did you?" Lisa took another step forward and Harlow stepped away automatically, trying not to cower.

"This is just typical of you, you selfish wretch, you think you can skip happily through life, doing whatever you want without paying the consequences. Well you're wrong!" Harlow had to swallow a hysterical bubble of laughter that was trying to escape, if Lisa thought that she 'happily skipped through life' then the alcohol had corroded her mind more than she thought. Seeing that Harlow didn't have a retort, her eyes flared with loathing. "Nothing to say? No excuses? No more pathetic lies?" Lisa strode forward - her anger evidently sobering her up - "You never learn, nothing ever goes in that thick skull of yours! You should be apologising, praying that I forgive you! How dare you lie to me?" Lisa took another step, she had back Harlow against the wall and now stood a mere foot in front of her, fuming. Harlow attempted to speak, to apologise, to beg and beseech but she couldn't, her brain betrayed her and wouldn't allow her to say a word, she just stood in frightened silence.

Lisa grinned, but it wasn't a happy smile, it wasn't the smile plastered on her face in the photo of her and her dad. This was a sadistic smile, a smile that told Harlow what was to come. Her mother gripped her by the hair, jerking her away from the wall, Harlow cried out as pain radiated through her head, reminding her that she had smacked it against the tarmac earlier that day. Lisa tried to drag her forward causing Harlow to trip and fall to her knees, she tried to curl in a ball, to protect herself, but Lisa was stronger than she looked and kept her on her knees. She looked up to see Lisa pulling her arm back, and Harlow scrunched her eyes shut, trying to block out what she knew was coming.

A second later her mother fist connected with her face, the impact hitting just above her cheek bone, Harlow cried out again as pain exuded through her face, she whimpered and tried to break away from her mother's grip. Finally Lisa let go and Harlow crumpled to the floor in a heap, she faintly heard her mother snarl something at her, but it was illegible to Harlow lying on the floor, trying to hold herself together until she heard her bedroom door slammed shut. The moment she knew she was alone, she broke down, sobs wracked her frame and she pressed a hand to her cheek which was throbbing profusely. This was average life for Harlow, and had been for many years, but still, even now, every time her mother laid hands on her it tore a part of her soul away.

For a couple of hours Harlow laid there, unmoving, watching the sky changing from blue-grey to orange tinged with pink, the sobs had stopped but her breathing was still ragged. Staring at the sky, she thought of the life she wanted, of how she wished she never had to see her mother again, and in that moment Harlow vowed to herself that she would have a better life one day; she would make sure of it. A resolve settled over her and without a second thought, she pulled on her socks and shoes, knowing Lisa would have locked herself away in her bedroom, Harlow crept downstairs and put on her jacket, she didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to get out of the house and away from the wreck that was her life.

20 minutes later Harlow laid on a stone bench by the river that ran down the very edge of the woods, on the other side of the river beyond a chain link fence was an industrial park, made up of seven or eight big warehouses - most of which were now empty. She had no idea what she was going to do, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she had to go back home, but she just needed some time, she needed a plan, a way to get out of here forever. The gentle trickle of the river helped calm her and she closed her eyes, focusing solely on the sound. Harlow's ears pricked up at the sound of voices, low and intense, she sat up and glanced around, trying to determine where they were coming from. She looked behind her and saw two people stood talking, or more accurately, arguing. One Harlow could see was obviously female, despite having her hood pulled up and obscuring her face, she was tall and dressed all in black, the other person was male and even taller than the girl, he had his back to her so Harlow couldn't see what he looked like.

Although they weren't far from her they didn't see her sat there, apparently her dark clothes made for a good camouflage against the ever darkening backdrop. She moved slowly to crouch behind the bench and watched the pair. She had no intention of listening in on what they were saying, she just wanted to leave before they saw her; she needed to get home anyway, before Lisa noticed her absence. She was about to turn and leave, hoping the trees would offer her some cover when a gust of wind blew the girl's hood down, revealing shoulder-length blonde curls. Amy looked massively out of place in the woods, her hair in perfect little spirals and despite only wearing a hoodie and dark jeans her clothes still looked good on her.

Harlow frowned, wondering why Amy would be in the woods when it's getting dark, arguing with the mystery guy in front of her. She struggled with her morality for a while, but decided she wasn't about to eavesdrop on the girl she had just made friends with. But as she was walking away in the opposite direction the pair was facing, a snippet of the conversation they were having drifted to her on the wind "We can't run from this, we have to tell her. If we don't you know she will figure it out eventually anyway, but by then it will be too late" the anger that heavily laced Amy's voice was a far cry from the happy-go-lucky girl she appeared to be just hours earlier in the café, she couldn't hear the boy's reply, but the low rumbling of his voice sent shivers down Harlow's spine.

She kept her head down and was still trying to get away unseen, dodging between the trees, when Amy's next words froze her to the spot. She was shouting now, evidently not happy with whatever the boy had said to her "If they find out about this they'll kill her" Harlow's heart beat faster, she was getting the distinct impression that this was a discussion she didn't want to be listening to, but she couldn't make her feet move. There was obviously a lot she didn't know about her new friend, things that were way of Harlow's head, things that she shouldn't be getting involved in. Even though she had only known Amy one day, she felt a protective urge for the girl; she wanted to know what trouble she was in, she wanted to help. So against her better judgment, Harlow hid behind the nearest tree and listened intently to the rest of the conversation.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.03.2011

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