Chapter One

*A Second Chance by butterfly-angel-babygirl*

I looked around the outside of my new school. This was my chance. I needed to take this and grasp it firmly. I wasn't going to have my life ruined any more than it already was. It was going to be different this time. I was going to make it different.

My life was going to be better. I was already two steps closer then I was a couple of months ago. I had a job. I had a new home. I was going to do this.

I took a deep breath and stepped towards the doorway. Other students were going in there as well. I was able to blend in easily, and quickly found my way to my locker. I had gone to the Freshman orientation, even though I was Junior now, to make sure that I could learn the place quickly.

I opened my locker, glad to have gotten the combination early last week. I looked at my schedule. I accidentally dropped my U.S. History binder, the only binder I would need until right before English.

I bent down to get it when another hand suddenly grabbed it. I stood up straight along with the other person. The person was a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy with messed up brown hair that fell above his blue eyes.

“Here.” He held the binder closer to me. Our eyes hadn't drifted away from each other. He was rather good looking. He had a nice face, almost flawless. He was a good foot taller than me; so he was probably about six-two. His voice was extremely deep, and I had a strange feeling that he sang in the Chorus.

“Thank you,” I said when I finally found my voice after a moment. I blushed as I took the binder from him.

“I take it you're new,” the boy inferred.

I smiled slightly. “Is it really that obvious?”

He smiled. “No. I just know everyone. Its a very small school. Everyone knows everyone else pretty much. So when there's a new face, we notice.”

“Ah. I should have known. This school is extremely small.” I nodded my head at this.

“My name is Jeremy Woodruff by the way,” the boy said. He held his hand out.

I shifted my books before taking his hand, feeling tingles almost. “Natasha Bliss.”

“Well, I hope you have a good school year here in Bonita, Natasha.” Jeremy smiled as he released my hand slowly.

“I hope so too. Thank you Jeremy.”

“No problem. See you later probably.”

“Right.” He walked away as I continued to put binders in my locker. I could feel my heart beating faster from him. I shook my head. I had a feeling he was just like all the other boys that I had known; playboys. They didn't care about a girl's feelings at all.

I looked at my schedule to double-check it before closing my locker and walking down the hallway. I could see the cliques in the school. Jocks with cheerleaders. Nerds and geeks. Normal people; people who didn't really fit anywhere. Loners. Stoners. I sighed. I was so tired of normal school clichés.

I entered the Chorus room and walked over to the teacher. I wasn't sure what exactly I was supposed to do. “Excuse me,” I said, catching her attention. She was probably about fifty, had short brown hair and brown eyes. She was average height and weight.

“Yes?” the teacher inquired. Her eyes met mine as she looked up.

“My name is Natasha Bliss. I'm new to the school and not sure really what to do.”

“Ah,” the teacher replied, understanding me. “Well, first, my name is Mrs. Cullen. I'm the Chorus and Orchestra teacher. For now, its pretty much for you to sit wherever you want. After announcements I'll have people split into their sections and we'll do seating.”

“Alright. Thank you Mrs. Cullen,” I thanked smiling.

“Of course Natasha,” Mrs. Cullen said and I walked away.

I grabbed a chair and sat it down in the front of the built-in risers they had in the large room. People began entering and running over to their friends. I observed everyone as they did this, and quickly learned who really wanted to be here and who didn't; and what clique they were in.

I wasn't really surprised when I saw Jeremy walk in at one point before the announcements. He entered with two other boys that also were about sixteen. One boy had short black hair and green eyes. He was about five-ten probably. The other boy was about six-even, right in between the other two boys. He had shaggy blonde hair and hazel eyes.

The period had gone by quickly. We had just spent the entire period moving seats. I looked at my schedule as we prepared for the bell to ring, signaling we had five minutes to get to second period. I had U.S. History next, and then it was Band time. I sighed as the bell rang. The school was much like my old school with their time tables. The schedules were set on a four-day rotation (Day 1, 2, 3, 4), and each day had ten periods in them, each being only thirty-eight minutes long.

I entered the U.S. History room and looked at the desks, noting that they were not assigned. I took a seat in the front of the row closest to the door. I preferred the front, and this way I also was going to be close to the door. Plus, if the teacher were to assign the seats and it was alphabetically, I would most likely be here anyways. I set my bag on my lap before getting my binder out and putting it on the floor.

The bell rang and the teacher entered. There seemed to be about twenty students in this period. Most looked extremely tired, and others seemed right in between being tired and being awake. I sighed and looked at the teacher.

“Alright, welcome to U.S. History, students!” the teacher, Mr. Rainsford, said grinning. “Now, you all may not like me for this, but I'm going to put you in assigned seats. Probably only until I really learn your names. Its going to be alphabetically. So, I need everyone to stand up and make it easier to move.”

I sighed and stood up, not moving my things. He grabbed a sheet of paper, which I assumed was the attendance. “Natasha Bliss.” I sat down and I saw the students look at me strangely. “Are you a new student?” he inquired. I figured he had seen the looks from the other students.

“Yes,” I involuntarily crossed my legs as I said this.

“Ah, welcome to Bonita then,” Mr. Rainsford greeted smiling. He then continued to go through the list. I noticed that one of Jeremy's friends was here. The blonde one that stood right in between the two. His name was actually Adam Waters.

Mr. Rainsford had us go through the normal first-day routine, and I was glad when he didn't make me stand up and introduce myself.

I walked into the Band room, pulling my flute out from my bag. I walked over to the Band teacher, not sure of where she would want me. “Excuse me,” I said.

“Yes?” she wondered, looking up from her computer. She was about forty and was rather plump. She had shining brown eyes.

“My name is Natasha Bliss. I'm new here,” I stated.

“Okay. My name is Mrs. Carlisle. What grade are you in?” the teacher inquired.

“Eleventh; Junior,” I replied.

“Alright. If you don't mind standing I can get you set when I have all the other flute players here,” Mrs. Carlisle said.

“No I don't. Thank you,” I said smiling.

“Of course,” she said. She walked up to the middle of the classroom. I noticed immediately that it was much like the Chorus room right next door. The only difference really was that the floor wasn't carpeted in this room. A few minutes after the bell rang all the flute players were apparently there. She gathered them around and I was surprised. There were probably about ten of them. My old school had had about fifteen. Only two were Seniors, and there was three Juniors. “I want you to come to the lesson for sure this week. We will figure out where you go then. For now, I want you to sit beside Melody.” The others left and a sixteen-year-old girl with long blond hair and blue eyes stood smiling. She was only about three inches taller than me, although you couldn't tell that much.

“Melody Rouse,” the girl introduced with a smile. She fidgeted with the end of her long t-shirt a little.

“Natasha Bliss.” I smiled slightly. She sat down in the front row, and I found a chair and sat it down. “Thank you.”

“No problem. How are you liking Bonita so far?”

“Its good. A lot like my old school.”

“I hope that's a good thing.”

I was silent and the teacher began talking. The truth was, it wasn't a good thing that it was like my old school. I pushed the memories of my old school away. No, this wasn't going to be anything like that. This was going to be different.

“So Natasha,” Melody said as we were able to just talk the rest of the period.

“Yes?” I turned to her slightly.

“What are some things you're interested in?”

“Writing mainly. I love English. What about you?”

“Fashion mainly. I hope to be a Fashion Designer when I get older.” I noticed her eyes sparkle as she said this.

“That sounds interesting.” I was unsure of what else to really say.

“So did you have many friends in your old school?”

“No,” I replied immediately. I only had one friend.

“Really? How many did you have?” Her eyebrows knitting together as if shocked and confused at this information.

“Only one. But she was the best friend you could ever ask for.” I stated as I recalled my best friend with a small smile.

“Ah, I understand. I have one best girl friend, but three guy friends,”

“Sounds nice,”

“Do you have lunch sixth period?”

“Yes,”

“Do you want to eat lunch with us then? My friends won't mind,”

“If I don't find anyone else I will,”

“Great! What is your locker number? We can meet right at your's,”

“325,”

“Great!” She seemed genuinely happy about the fact that I was possibly going to sit with her. I wondered if I had really already made a new friend.

“Hey.” I looked up and saw Jeremy. I sucked in a breath, shocked he was there.

“Hey Jeremy!” Melody said happily, grinning, “This is-”

“I've already met her,” Jeremy interrupted and his eyes met mine, making my heart race a little bit faster. I had no idea what he was doing to me, “Hey Natasha.”

“Hi Jeremy,” I greeted smiling.

“How are you liking Bonita?” Jeremy asked.

“Fine,” I replied, “there haven't been many classes, so I can't really judge.”

“Good point,” Jeremy said chuckling and I thought my heart melted.

“She might be eating with us. That's okay, right?” Melody said,

“Of course,” Jeremy said smiling.

The period went by quickly. I spent the whole time getting to know Melody and Jeremy. I hoped that I could become good friends with them.

The next two periods, English and Spanish, went by quickly. I hadn't gotten any other invitations for lunch. Jeremy had Spanish with me, and so I told him at the end of the period that I really would be eating with them.

I stood at my locker, getting my Chemistry and Pre-Calculus binders out. I double-checked my schedule to make sure I wouldn't need anything else. All I had the rest of the day was Lunch, Pre-Calculus, Chemistry, Chemistry Lab and free period for all the students. So I didn't need anything else.

“Ready?” I jumped, shocked that Jeremy was there. He chuckled and I felt my face go beet red.

“Yeah,” I answered while closing my locker. Four other people walked over, and Melody was one of them obviously. The two boys were the same boys that I had seen Jeremy walk into Chorus with. The final person was a girl our age. She had shoulder length straight black hair and piercing brown eyes that were so dark they almost seemed black.

“Hey Natasha!” Melody said happily.

“Hi,” I greeted smiling weakly.

“These are Wesley Peters,” Jeremy pointed to the shortest guy with black hair and green eyes as he began introducing us all. “Adam Waters,” I think I saw recognition in his eyes from U.S. History. “And Rachel Amidon,” He pointed to the other girl, who smiled at me slightly. “This is Natasha Bliss. She's new.”

“We all knew that one Jer,” Rachel rolled her eyes at him, “Its obvious with the facts that she's not a Freshman and we haven't recognized her.”

“Oh shut up Rach,” Jeremy glared lightly at the other girl.

“Its so much fun to talk though,” Rachel retorted grinning.

“I should have known you would say something like that,” Jeremy stated, shaking his head.

I smiled, knowing that I would have said the same thing back. “So, are you ready?” Jeremy wondered, snapping me back to them.

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“Lets go then!” Melody said, and we went to the cafeteria.

“So what school did you used to go to Natasha?” Adam inquired as we sat down after getting food.

“Ridgway. Its about two hours away from here,” I replied, biting into my piece of pizza.

“How big was it?” Wesley wondered.

“Its about the size of here,” I stated, recalling my old school, pushing the bad memories away.

“What are some things you're interested in?” Rachel questioned.

“Well, my main passion is writing. I always have a notebook with me. I hope to be an English teacher,” I answered, mentally making sure my notebook was tucked carefully into my bag.

“What about sports?” Jeremy asked.

“Not anymore. I used to play baseball and soccer though,” I answered.

“Why did you stop?” Rachel wondered, her small eyebrows knitting together.

“Asthma and just life in general,” I stated shrugging.

“Understandable,” Wesley agreed, nodding his head as he took a bite of his pizza.

“So do you have any siblings?” Adam inquired after a moment of silence.

“No, I'm an only child,” I replied shaking my head, my brown hair hitting my face slightly.

“Lucky. The rest of us have at least one sibling,” Melody pouted, her lower lip coming out slightly.

“Not really. Its gets really lonely,” I debated before taking another bite of my pizza, shocked at how hungry I really was.

“True,” Jeremy agreed. I assumed he may have an older sibling if he really knew what I meant.

“Yeah. Its not the same when they're gone,” Wesley said, nodding his head.

The whole period we talked about anything, really. I was shocked to find out I had the Pre-Calculus with all of them, and Chemistry with Melody.

--

I dropped my Chemistry book and was about to pick it up when I saw Jeremy reaching for it. “You seem to enjoy dropping things around me,” Jeremy smirked as he handed me my book back.

“Of course. You save me the energy of picking it up myself,” I retorted smiling.

“Ah, a sarcastic one,” Jeremy inferred laughing. My heart skipped a beat at his laughter, and I tried to calm it, as well as the blush I felt coming.

“And your point?” I wondered, raising an eyebrow as I put my book in my locker.

“Just saying,” Jeremy said shrugging one of his broad shoulders.

“So what's up?” I wondered when he didn't leave as I closed my locker a minute later.

“Uh, well, I have some questions for you actually.” He looked towards the other side of the hallway rather than my eyes. This made me a little wary of his questions.

I was extremely curious about what he could ask me nevertheless. “Do you mind if you ask when we walk? I have to work,” I said.

“No, that's fine,” Jeremy said, and then his eyebrows knitted together slightly, “I'm surprised you have a job though. You haven't lived here long, have you?”

“I've lived here for about a month. I know the owners, though, and when I told them I needed a job, they said they would hire me. They needed a new worker anyways,” I replied.

“Oh, okay. Where are you working then?”

“Angel's Café and Bakery.”

“That place is awesome! I love their donuts.”

I smiled and giggled. “Yep. So what are your questions?”

“Oh! Uh, there's this party Friday night that all of us are going to. Do you want to come with us?”

I was slightly surprised. These people have barely known me, and yet, they want me to go to a party with them. My smile widened, and I nodded my head. “That sounds great. Where is it?”

“I can pick you up actually. You'll just have to show me your house.”

“I'll show you tomorrow; I don't have to work.”

“Alright then.” He smiled and held the front doors open for me. I thought my heart was truly melting.

“So do you have any other questions?”

Jeremy hesitated for a moment. “No,” I looked in his eyes and saw that he was hiding something; that he was lying about not having any other questions for me.

“You're lying.”

His head whipped over to me, his eyes widening. “How the hell did you know?”

“Your eyes. So just ask me whatever questions you have.”

“Alright. Uh, this is a really strange question, but, why do you seem so depressed?”

My heart constricted, I froze in my steps, and felt my eyes widen. How could he tell that I was depressed? I thought I had been able to hide it.

“You don't have to tell me,” Jeremy stated, turning to lock eyes with me when he realized I had stopped.

“I have a bad past. I...I, uh, I don't mean to hurt you or be rude, but I don't want to tell you,” I replied quietly, choosing my words carefully so I wouldn't hurt him.

“I understand.” He smiled as he put a hand on my shoulder. I felt myself get warm.

“I can't guarantee anything, but if I learn to really trust you, I may tell you,” I admitted after a moment

“Whenever you feel you are ready to tell me, I'm willing to listen.”

I really thought my heart was melting. He was so sweet, and understanding. “Thank you,” I thanked, my voice extremely quiet.

Jeremy only smiled at me, and we continued the walk in silence. I wanted so badly to know what he was really thinking; to find out if he really was as sweet as he seemed.

“I stop here everyday after school before I go to soccer practice,” Jeremy stated as he held the door open before we entered Angel's Café and Bakery.

“Ah. I work every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,” I said.

Angel's Café and Bakery was actually rather large. There were a lot of tables and booths lining the far right wall and the whole right area. On the left side there was a counter with the cash register and the regular café things like the menus and fountain drinks starting at the center. When the café portion ended, the bakery part began, ending at the very end of the wall.

Behind the counter was a seventeen-year-old girl with chin length black hair with purple highlights and green eyes. She had two piercings in each of her ears and one on her nose. She was my co-worker; Emily Canton.

“So what do you want Jeremy?” I inquired as I went behind the counter.

“Water and a glazed donut,” Jeremy said, sitting on a stool.

“Alright,” I said and went into the bakery portion after grabbing a water and sliding it down to him.

Jeremy stayed only long enough to finish his donut, but when he gave me his money, he left his napkin, and it had something written on it. 555-8596 my cell. Text or call if you need anything, or just for the heck of it. -Jeremy

I smiled and Emily looked over to me. “He leave you his number?” she inferred, standing up and walking over to me.

“Yeah,” I confirmed.

“He's a jerk Natasha,” Emily warned, “He doesn't treat girls right. The only reason Melody and Rachel are there is because of the guys. And they aren't much better either.”

I stared at her in shock; they hadn't been bad at all during the day. “They're just like all the other jocks and preps you know. Playboys and sluts,” Emily said, “You shouldn't hang out with them. They'll just break your heart. Trust me.”

“Thanks for the warning Emily,” I said, “But...I think I'll let myself be the judge of that.”

“Alright. But don't come to me if something bad happens to you,” Emily said shrugging and walked over to a customer who had just walked in.

--

I sighed as I entered the house. It was 6:00 at night and I was just getting home from work. I saw the kitchen and living room lights on. I walked up the nearby stairs and went into my bedroom, laying my books on the bed before starting my computer up.

“Natasha, dinner!” The voice that called this was a voice I had become grateful for. The voice of not my real mother; but my foster mother.

I had been taken from my family just last month. Think I regret it? It was my fault it happened. I was happy. I hated both my parents. I hated my father more than my mother though.

“So how was school?” my foster mother, Andrea, wondered as I sat down. Her husband, James, sat across from me and Andrea was about to sit at her seat at the head of the small table.

“Pretty good actually,” I answered and began to tell them of the others; telling them of the party and their kindness.

“So are you going to the party this Friday?” James inquired.

“Unless you two have something else for me to do,” I replied.

“No; you are going to that party!” Andrea enforced, surprising me at her enthusiasm.

“Alright!” I said laughing, “I'll let Jeremy know that I am going for sure later tonight.”

“Later tonight?” Andrea questioned, raising her eyebrow.

“He gave me his number today after school when he was asking me about the party. He's going to come pick me up then. I don't know if he wants to hang out tomorrow or what; I'm showing him the house so he knows where to pick me up,” I said.

“He can just so long as one of us is home,” James stated.

“James! I'm not a little girl! I don't need one of you two home to watch me,” I protested.

“I know you aren't a little girl, Natasha, but I still would rather have one of us home to meet him,” James said.

“I'm going to be home tomorrow anyways. Its my day to work at home,” Andrea said.

“Thank you Andrea,” I thanked, grateful that it was her instead of James. I could handle Andrea meeting him; she was awesome. James was too overprotective.

“No problem,” Andrea said smiling.

“So how was work?” James wondered.

“Fine. A little busy, but Emily is working as well, so it took a little bit of the stress off,” I said shrugging.

“That's good,” James said nodding his head.

*~~*

So I hope you like this new story. I've been working on it since July and just decided to put it up since I'm pretty far into it.

The more reviews I get, the faster I may update! So please review! Thank you!

Xx Butterfly