Chapter One: Train Ride

“Are you sure you have everything?”

“Yes Grandma,” fifteen year old Natalie Thompson replied.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes Grandpa, positive.” Natalie replied.

“Well, alright then dear.” Natalie’s grandma said as she hugged her grandchild close to her.

“You be safe during your trip.” Her grandpa said as he hugged her when she was free from her grandma.

Natalie smiled and looked at them both.

“Try your best not to kill your sister when she’s on one of her gloating sprees.” Her grandma warned.

“I’ll try,” Natalie grinned, “but I can’t guarantee the outcome.”

“We’re going to miss you.” Her grandma said.

Natalie gave a sad smile. “I’m going to miss you both as well. I’ll be sure to visit.”

Her grandpa nodded. “And if you ever want to come back, you’re welcome in our home any time.” He said.

Natalie hugged them both one last time before boarding the train with a suitcase in each hand and a messenger back around her neck and shoulder.

When Natalie got to an open room in a car, she opened the window and stuck her head out, waving to her grandparents. They waved back right before the whistle blew and Natalie swore she could see the faint hint of tears on her grandma’s pale cheeks which were covered with a light pink blush.

The train took off and Natalie watched her grandparents with her head out of the window until they were no longer in sight and the station was becoming a blur.

She sighed and brought her head back in, closing the window afterwards.

Natalie slumped down on the green cushioned bench-like seat against the wall in the small room.

It would take five days to get from Ohio to Las Angeles, California. Granted, they had to make other stops along the way for Las Angeles was the last stop of the train which would take longer than if it was going straight to Las Angeles.

Natalie put her suitcases on the rack above the bench she had been sitting on. She took off her messenger back and laid it beside her. Rummaging through it, she found what she was looking for quickly.

Natalie unwound the white earplug-like headphones that were wrapped around her blue iPod nano and stuck them in her ear. She knew that her iPod was old and banged up with scratches and nicks from all her clumsy moments while in possession of it, but she loved it anyways. She didn’t need some fancy thing that could play movies or music videos.

She put her iPod on Shuffle, and leaned her head back, turning it to her right to look out the window as the scenery went passing by. She found herself tapping her leg with her hand to the beat of the rhythm. It started off with Streetcorner Symphony. She liked Rob Thomas’ music. His voice was nice unlike a lot of young bands now-a-days that played on the radio.

Her grandparents had been worried whether she should make this trip alone, since she was only fifteen and not yet a legal adult. She had convinced them to let her go by herself.

Honestly, she wanted some peace and quiet for a while, time to herself, just to think.

She wasn’t really sure herself that this was the right decision, moving back in with her family, or rather, what was left of her family.

Three years ago Natalie’s dad divorced her mom and moved to Hawaii, she doesn’t know why they got divorced, her mom refused to tell her. He got remarried to a woman who had children from a previous marriage. Not once has she seen her dad in those three years. She doesn’t even know her step-mom’s name, or how many step-siblings she has or their gender, age, or name. Her family’s had no contact whatsoever with him either. It depresses Natalie to think about it, her family was so happy before he left, she doesn’t know what went wrong.

After he left, Natalie’s mom became a workaholic; she would work from early in the morning till late at night. Most days Natalie wouldn’t even see her mom at all. Julia, Natalie’s older sister by two years put all her time and effort into her band DigiCell, which flourished. She had always been amazing at music but only after their dad left did she really shine. Natalie’s mom noticed this, even though she wasn’t around as much anymore, and got Julia classes and bought her things to help with her music. Sometimes Natalie felt like her mom forgot that she even existed.

After almost a year and a half of that life, Natalie decided to move in with her grandparents on her mom’s side. She had always favored them over all her other relatives. Once she moved, her grades got better and she was an all around happier person.

Recently, her mom had called her grandparents, saying that she missed her so much that she couldn’t bear to have her away any longer. Natalie had eavesdropped in on the conversation which was put on speaker so that both of her grandparents could talk to her mom. It had sounded like she was crying over the phone, some of her words Natalie didn’t even think belonged to the English language; they were so slurred from her being upset.

Natalie’s grandparents caved in to their daughter, they said that they would talk it over with Natalie. Even though they loved her very much, they couldn’t just keep her apart from her mom, especially if both Natalie and her mom really wanted to be together.

And so it was decided after a long conversation between Natalie and her grandparents that she would move back in with her mom and sister.

Natalie was no fool. She knew that she might not see much of either of her two family members, but she had learned to take care of herself. She had matured much since she had last seen her family and was much more independent than others her age.

Seven more songs later when she was listening to Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, the door to her small room slid open. Natalie looked to her left to find a guy who looked to be around her age. She pressed ‘pause’ on her iPod and took out her earphones.

“Can I help you?” She asked. She noticed the guy’s short sandy blonde hair was spiked with hair gel but was a bit ruffled; his brown eyes were wide and wild. He was panting as if out of breath. It was then that she realized that not too far back a station was. She hadn’t even realized that they had made a stop.

“Mind if I stay in here with you? The other rooms are pretty full.” He said. He had a backpack hanging off of his left shoulder and a duffle bag in his right.

Natalie nodded. She could imagine how unfair it would be for the guy if he was in some crowded room while she had this one all to herself.

The guy smiled and walked into the room, placing his things on the rack above the opposite bench of Natalie’s. He turned to close the door and then sat down across from her, running his hand through his hair. “Thanks.” He said.

Natalie gave a slight smile and put her earphones back in, but didn’t press ‘play.’

“You have to run to catch the train?” She asked, noticing that he was still slightly short of breath.

The guy grinned and nodded his head. “You wouldn’t believe the traffic on the roads here.”

Natalie smiled at him and then turned to look out of the window, her iPod still on ‘pause.’ She didn’t feel like listening to music right now but wanted her earphones in just for relaxation; it helped calm her even if nothing was playing.

The guy looked her up and down, studying every feature greatly. “You look a bit too young to be riding on a train all alone. What’s the deal”? He said, not giving much thought as to if he was being too personal when neither even knew the other’s name.

“I’m moving out to Las Angeles. My family is there waiting for me.” Natalie said. She then frowned and said quickly afterwards, “And I’m not that young. I’m fifteen.” She was proud of that fact.

“Las Angeles? No kidding. I’m headed back there too, just got done with a sports camp.” The guy said with a smile. He then grinned again and said, “And you’re still pretty young.”

“Oh? And how old are you?” Natalie asked looking at him with her eyebrows raised.

“Seventeen,” He said smugly.

Natalie frowned.

“Well, grandpa, not all of us can be as old as you.” She said.

He faked mock hurt. Grabbing his chest right where his heart was, he said, “Ouch. I’m not that old. Keep in mind that I’m only two years older than you.”

Natalie gave a slight smile.

“So, are you going to be a freshman when school starts?” He asked.

Natalie scowled. “Sophomore,” she said.

“You do know that most sophomores are sixteen, right? You’ll be a bit younger than the rest of them.” He said.

“I know. I got an early start.” Natalie said.

“By the way, my name’s Ryan.” He said, crossing his tanned and muscular arms across his chest. He looked pretty buffed up for a seventeen year old. He was almost as tall as the frame of the door for the room. Natalie wouldn’t be surprised if he was a sports’ fanatic.

“Natalie.” She replied.

“So, Natalie, why’s your family already out in Las Angeles but you aren’t?” Ryan asked.

“I moved from Las Angeles to Ohio a couple years ago to live with my grandparents.” Natalie replied.

“Any reason why?” Ryan asked.

“It’s…personal.” Natalie replied slowly. She didn’t like to tell strangers or anybody really about her family life. She didn’t like to talk about it that much either. It was nothing against Ryan, because he seemed enough like a nice guy, it’s just that it was her family’s business and no one else’s.

“I understand.” Ryan said.

Natalie gave him a small smile of appreciation. She was glad he didn’t press her for information.

“So, you have any siblings?” Ryan asked, trying his best to make small talk.

“One, an older sister,” Natalie replied.

“Really?” He asked, slightly surprised, “How old is she?”

“Seventeen; like you. She’ll be a junior this year.” Natalie replied, taking her earphones out and winding them around her iPod nano like they had been previously before she had unwound them.

“You get along with her?” He asked, curious now.

“Not one bit. She has always demanded attention and doesn’t stop till she gets what she wants, very determined. She used to like to order me around a lot.” Natalie said with a frown.

“Sounds hard. If my bro tried to do that, I’d beat on him. He’s not nearly as strong as I am.” Ryan said.

“Oh? How old is your brother?” Natalie asked.

“First year in college. Can’t tell you how proud my folks were of him. They acted as if they had never seen someone go to college before.” Ryan said rolling his eyes. “They keep on worrying about me getting into college because I ‘don’t have his brains’ as they like to put it. I keep on trying to reassure them though that I’ll definitely get a scholarship for sports.”

“What sports do you play?” Natalie asked. She wasn’t really that good at sports because it seemed she had two left feet and two right arms whenever she tried to play something. Someone always ended up hurt in gym class when she was anywhere close to equipment.

“You name it, I play it.” Ryan said with a smug smile.

Natalie smirked, “How about figure skating?”

Ryan laughed. “Please,” he said, unable to control his laugher, “don’t group me together with those pansies.” He sobered up a bit and then said, “However, if I did try it I’m sure it’d be a piece of cake.”

Natalie continued to smirk. “Really? What about those skates, I hear they’re hard to balance on and one wrong slip with a partner could end up as red ice. Those blades are quite sharp.”

“With these muscles,” Ryan said, flexing his biceps or triceps or whatever they were in his arm, “how could I mess up?”

“Confident, are we?”

“Very.” Ryan replied with a grin.

“But, back to what we were talking about before you changed the subject.” Ryan said, his grin turning into a small smile. “What’s your sister’s name?”

“Only if you tell me your brother’s then as well.” Natalie said.

“Deal.”

“Julia.”

“Brian.”

“Do you get along with your brother?” Natalie asked.

Ryan grunted. “He acts all mighty just because he’s older by three years. He thinks he’s so smart. I’d like to show him a thing or two.”

Natalie laughed. “Well, good luck. I’ll be on the sidelines cheering for you as you tackle your brother head on.”

Ryan smiled. “You know, I know a Julia. She’s in my grade. Maybe we’re talking about the same one.”

“Maybe.” Natalie smiled, though the possibility was slim. “What’s her last name?”

“Thompson.”

Natalie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

“So we are talking about the same Julia?” Ryan asked, taking her reaction as a ‘yes.’

Natalie nodded and smiled. “Well, I’m surprised.”

“You and me both.” Ryan said, “Guess that means we’ll be in the same school. She didn’t mention that she had a little sister much.”

“I’m sure.” Natalie grumbled.

Ryan laughed.

“You know, her band’s doing pretty well. It’s played a few gigs in the last half of last year. If there’s something big that the school’s putting on: like a dance or fundraiser, they’re most likely there playing along with a couple other school bands.” He said.

“DigiCell? I’m not surprised. She put a lot of effort into it a while back and the band started doing pretty well.” Natalie said.

“What about you? Are you into music like her?” Ryan asked.

“I love music, but I tend to stay out of it. It’s kind of my sister’s thing. I don’t want to get involved.” Natalie replied.

“Hey, I got into sports because my brother was smart. Don’t be like me. If you love music, then don’t just skip out on it.” Ryan said.

“Are you trying to say that you love homework and tests?” Natalie asked with her right eyebrow raised.

Ryan laughed. “Oh, that’s a good one.” He said, wiping an invisible tear from his eye. “No, I never got into it. I stayed out of it from the beginning. I get by with B’s and am doing just fine.”

They continued talking through the rest of the day into the night, when they both spread out on their benches and fell asleep.