No. 2: Through Thick or Thin

No. 2: Through Thick or Thin

"Sir. They've met." A woman reported. A tall man with graying hair walked briskly over to her and looked down at her screen.
"All three?" He asked.
"Yes sir."
He watched as three sixteen-year-olds walk down the streets, smiling with each other. The tall brunette boy was telling an animated story that made the other two burst out laughing.
"They have no idea." The woman muttered.
"Ignorance is bliss." He replied.
"Are they the ones?" She asked.
"Yes they are. They're our last line of defense. They're going to save the world. We have plans for them. Very high plans. Take them to the forest tomorrow. It's getting closer."

.:+++:.

Isabelle woke up with the smell of the rain, and the crisp breeze caressing her gently. She opened her groggy eyes and saw that she had left her tiny window open last night. Groaning softly she stretched and felt something dig into her side. Izzy looked down and saw Cliff's black notebook.
She ran her finger tips over the cover before picking it up. She had devoured the story eagerly, drinking in every word he had written. He hadn't struck her as the kind of guy that would write, but he sure knew how to tell a story that kept you flipping the pages. She had stayed up 'til two o'clock last night reading it, and was a little depressed when she had come to the end of it.

Beep, beep.

She scrambled for her phone on the nightstand and read the text message on the screen.

Venn: Hey, we're going hiking, wanna come?

After a moment's hesitation she typed in a response.

Izzy: What time?

Venn: Uh...15 min....

Isabelle shrieked for a moment before jumping out of bed and rushing to her closet.

Izzy: Half an hour!

Venn: What could you possibly need to do that would take half an hour?!

Izzy:....You do have a girlfriend right? You should know this by now.

Venn:....fine. Half an hour but not a second more!

Isabelle grabbed a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt before hitting the shower.

She finished up with twelve minutes to spare, which she spent packing a lunch since it was already noon. She had exchanged her orange converse, for a pair of hiking boots and had on one of her favorite jackets zipped up along with a teal blue beanie cap to keep her ears warm.
When the boys finally knocked on the door, she grinned and grabbed Cliff's notebook before taking the stairs two at a time.

At the bottom of the stairs, she found Sarah standing in her way.
"Where are you going?" The slur in her words gave off the impression that she wasn't sober.
"Hiking outside the city. I should be back around supper time."
She pointed an accusing finger at Izzy that wavered.
"I want pizza tonight...and money. I need more money."
Isabelle sighed and edged her way around her.
"Okay, I left twenty bucks on the dinner table for pizza so, you'll be set for dinner if I'm too late."
Izzy dashed out the door before Sarah could say another word.
She screamed when she hit something hard right outside the door. As she felt herself falling, strong arms wrapped around her waist before they both hit the concrete. Her head hit so hard she heard a sickening crack and something warm dripped down the side of her face.
"Oh crap. Isabelle?"
The voice was getting farther and farther away.
"Isabelle look at me!"
She struggled to keep Venn's dark eyes in focus.
"What happened?!" Cliff's voice sounded at the end of the tunnel. Venn's eyes were joined by Cliff's grey ones but she watched as light dotted her vision until it got to much to bare and she shut her eyes.

.:+++:.

Everything was blue.
Everything she saw was blue.
No, as her eyes adjusted and focused, she saw out side some kind of glass encasing was a boy.
He had curly dark hair and eyes that were an odd amber color.
They made eye contact, his even gaze sent a shiver down her spine, but by the shock she saw on his face he didn't expect her to catch him watching her. She was about to say something when she became conscious that something was in her mouth, she looked down and saw wires coming off her body, she didn't see where they went, she was having a minor heart attack.
Where am I? What's going on God?! She screamed, but only bubbles came out.
The boy touched the glass with his finger tips. He mouthed something to her that she didn't get then ran off. Replaced by a woman in a white lab coat who went to work franticly typing on a monitor of what looked like an outline of a human body, it took Izzy a minute to figure out it was her own. The woman zoomed in on her brain and tapped another key. Immediately her eyes closed and she floated in oblivion once again.

.:+++:.

She woke up gasping for breath and was grateful to have it fill her lungs.
Her eyes were slightly blinded by the bright lights, but when she blinked several times they cleared up and she was able to figure out she was in an emergency room.
Nurses were rushing around and tending to other patients, one stopped by her and checked monitors she was hooked up too.
"You had a slight head trauma." The nurse said as she turned to me. "You passed out, so you weren't conscious for the stitches. Which you're probably thankful for."
Izzy managed to smile.
"Well anyways, we'll get you some pain killers, and then you're free to go."
She pulled the IV out of Isabelle's arm and left with one more smile.

Isabelle swung herself out of the bed to find she was still in the same clothes. Even her boots. So she figured she couldn't have been out for very long.
She slowly made her way out of the emergency room and into the waiting area.
Venn and Cliff jumped up when they saw her and rushed over.
"Are you okay?" Cliff asked, both boy's faces were full of worry.
"Yeah, get a cinnamon hot coco and I'll be right as rain." She said with a smile.
"Well I guess it's a good thing I already went and got that a few minutes ago." Venn produced a Starbucks cup of still steaming hot chocolate. Isabelle's eyes brightened at the sight of it as she accepted it from him.
"You are amazing. Thanks!"
"It was my money though..." Cliff mumbled quietly as he walked away. Izzy laughed as she saw the competition going on.
"You're both amazing. Now let's get my pain killers and get out of here. I still want to go hiking."
Venn looked at her with worry in his eyes.
"Are you sure? I mean you just had three stitches and you want to go hiking?"
Isabelle shrugged away his worry as she asked for her pills at the front desk.
"If I get tired then we'll stop. And if my head really starts to hurt you can carry me back." She joked.
"I really don't think this is such a good idea." Cliff chimed in.
She sighed as she got the feeling they wouldn't let her go now.
"Alright fine. But can we at least walk around? I don't want to go back home..." Isabelle hugged her middle as she followed the boys outside the ER.
They were so quiet for a moment that she had to glance up at them to make sure they were still there.
In truth, she didn't want to be alone. Because she knew that if she was alone, she would start to think about things, and the one thing her mind kept jumping to was that odd dream she had when she was knocked out.
It had to have been a dream, it was the only thing that would make sense to her. But then again, she usually never dreams that she's in a sci-fi show.

"Why don't you come over to my house..." Venn said slowly. "That way you can lie down if you need to and I'd feel much more comfortable if we were closer to a place where I don't have to carry you for miles. Not saying I couldn't do it I just-"
Isabelle punched his arm playfully.
"I got it. No need to boost your own self-esteem there."
Venn chuckled and took the lead. Izzy slinked back with Cliff and slipped his black notebook into his hand.
He looked up at her not down at his hand, she guessed so Venn wouldn't notice. She gave him a reassuring smile before taking a couple of steps ahead of him, so they formed a single line. Reminding Isabelle of a row of little ducklings.

.:+++:.

"Sir we have a slight complication."
The man walked over to the woman with raised eyebrows. Telling her to go on.
"Well the girl hit her head on the concrete and had to go to the ER. So that shoots down taking them to the forest."
The man sighed quietly as he watched the monitor. The three were sitting on the couch in the Russo Estate playing the Xbox.
"But...that's...not the bad news..." The woman fiddled with a brown curl and bit her bottom lip uncertain to continue.
"Please Anna," The man gestured for her to go on.
"Well...because the injury wasn't programmed, it messed up the system, and she...broke through..."
The man's eyes grew wide, though nothing else on his face showed shock.
"She woke up?"
Anna nodded.
"I was able to put her back under but I don't know how much she saw, and because of this, I can't make her forget it either. She's...breaking up the system."
"We need to get them out. Now."

.:+++:.

"Ugh..." Isabelle collapsed onto the couch, curling up into a small ball so the boys still had room.
Her head was ringing, she had already taken a pill but it didn't seem to have kicked in yet.
"You okay?" Venn asked.
"I'll live if that's what you mean. But I don't think 'okay' would be a good adjective to describe me at the moment." She said quietly as she closed her eyes.
"Hey, where's Christie? I would have thought you'd invite her over." She asked, opening one eye to look at Venn.
"She's got the flu so she didn't want to come over and give it to the rest of us. Though she says she's praying for you."
Isabelle nodded and closed her eyes again. She really wanted to talk about Cliff's book, but she knew he wouldn't appreciate it if she asked about it with Venn around. Probably because it's not usually something a guy would do. She thought to herself. At least, not one that spends most of his time in a gym.
"Hey Venn, could you do me a favor?" She asked, opening her eyes again.
"Sure."
"Do you have any food? I'm starving. I never did eat lunch."
He chuckled and put the game on pause.
"What do you want? We've got stuff for turkey sandwiches, or there's cold pizza."
She scrunched up her nose at the sound of cold pizza. Making him laugh harder.
"Alright, turkey sandwich it is." He said as he got up from the couch and went into the kitchen.
"Thank you!" She shouted after him.

Cliff fiddled with his controller at the other end of the couch and didn't say anything.
"So," Izzy spoke up. "How long have you been writing?"
"Uh...I don't know." He smiled down at his hands, though she was pretty sure it was because he was thinking of a good memory. "Probably ever since my sixth grade teacher had us write a short story for English."
Isabelle smiled and nodded.
"Well I really liked your story. You are obviously more talented in writing then I am." She stuck out her tongue to the pillow she held between her hands.
Cliff laughed and shrugged modestly.
"Yeah well..."
"So how come you don't want Venn to know?"
"Because I'd never hear the end of it. And I don't need that kind of crap right now."
She nodded in understanding. It's not that she was actually sure how he felt, but she knew how the world didn't let anyone be who they actually were with out shooting them down.
"Well, your secrets safe with me."
He met her gaze this time and smiled.
"I know."
"You know what?" Venn came back in holding out a plate with a sandwich on it for Izzy.
"Thanks." She said quietly as she sat up.
"I know exactly how to beat you in this game. Duh." Cliff stated so naturally that Izzy almost believed him.

The boys went back to their game playing, while Izzy dozed off every now and then.
The lights flickered on and off for a moment before going off completely.
The boys fell silent and didn’t move. Izzy woke up and sensed the tension in the air.
“What happened to the lights?” She asked.
“Some kid probably blew a transformer again.” Venn grumbled from somewhere to her left. “I’ll go check the breakers on the house.”
She could hear him get up from the couch and stumble around the house, but just then a light came back on.
"What was that...?" She whispered, the house all of a sudden becoming eerie.
"I've got no idea. I'll be right back." Venn said giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
Both Cliff and Izzy rose from their spots on the couch to watch him leave. Unconsciously moving closer to each other for the sense of security.
"Isabelle Grace Wood, Vencint Flynn Russo, Cliff Pierce Kentin."
All three froze.
Venn swung around from the corner he had walked past, Izzy jumped and grabbed Cliff's hand, squeezing it hard.
What they saw confused them.
It was a woman standing in middle of the living room.
Well, sort of. She didn't seem to be...fully there.
Also, what she was wearing was unusual. She wore a scientist lab coat, under which was a dark-green, skin-tight jumpsuit type garment.
"Who are you? Where did you come from?" Cliff demanded in shock.
"She's not from anywhere. Well, at least not here." Izzy said. Taking small, cautious steps forward, she looked like she was about to smack the woman.
"Isabelle! What-" Venn's sentence was cut off when her hand went clean through the woman's face.
His jaw dropped as he jumped clear over the couch and ran up to the woman, swiping his own hand through the non-existent person.
"Yes. I am a hologram. Now would you please stop, you're messing up the projector." The woman ordered. They both jumped back and walked backwards until they met up with Cliff again.
"Now, as to who I am. That is not important. But what is important is that you realize that this world you live in, Washington DC, the United States. None of it is real. Nothing. The world is controlled by us, scientists helping a race of people that are....unique in ways no one can understand."
"Excuse me?" They all said in unison.

.:+++:.

The three, stunned, and utterly confused children listened while their reality was broken down to nothing.
"We were able to form a virtual reality quickly and you've been living in here since you were six-"
"Six?! We were in here for ten years?!" Izzy almost screamed. "Why? Why us? I'm sure there are other kids that would have been better, or better yet you could have just left us the heck alone!" Anger boiled up in her as thoughts came to mind, and then the memory she had when she was knocked out.
Her eyes grew wide and she would have fallen to the floor, if Cliff didn't have fast reflexes.
"Oh dang. We don't happen to be floating in some kind of blue gel do we? With like scuba gear or something?" She asked, gaining her balance again.
"What? scuba gear?" Venn asked.
"What kind of blue gel?" Cliff inquired.
The woman sighed and nodded.
"Yes. You are, it's the only way your bodies will be able to function again when we bring you out."
"Is that why you're bringing us out?" She asked. "Because I woke up?"
"You did what?!"
Izzy ignored Cliff again and turned to the woman.
"Yes, it was not programmed. You're crashing the system. So we have to get you out as soon as possible before it causes any kind of damage to your brains."
"Wait, wait, wait." Venn spoke up, tired of being ignored. "So you're telling us that everything we've ever lived isn't...real? It never actually happened?"
The woman nodded. "Yes I do believe that is what I have been saying."
"So...my girlfriend is a figment of my imagination?"
"Yes. We programmed her to fall for you, we programmed her to be with you. Everything she did, we told her to do."
Horror and disgust over came the three.
"My mom..."
"Is also a program. We don't have much time we need to be going."
"No!" Venn shouted. "I don't think we're going anywhere right now. You can't just drop the whole 'you live in the Matrix' bomb on people with out them reacting so you'll give us twenty four hours here to figure stuff out. I don't care if my mom's a program I still have to talk to her....And Christie."
Tight lines formed around the woman's mouth as her gaze became cold.
"We don't have that much time. You have twelve hours at the most that is all we can give you. Say your goodbyes, and then it's best not to look back at this. It was never real and you had best move on."
The woman disappeared, leaving the three children stunned and angry.
"What a freakin' - Ugh!" Izzy cut herself off before she let foul language pour out from her mouth. She gripped her head, no longer caring if it hurt.
"Who-who does this?! And for God's sake if they had control over our lives then why did she make mine so bloody miserable?!" She collapsed on the couch and held her head in her hands, her breathing was fast and her pulse was racing.
"I think we need to come at this rationally..."
"Cliff, there is nothing rational about this." Venn snapped. "And Izzy's got a point. If they do really control our whole lives, then why did yours have to turn out so bad? They made that car crash happen! They made your dad die! It was all on them!"
"Don't you think I know that?!" Cliff yelled at him, his own anger threatening to over flow. "But I don't think yelling at each other is going to change that! We need to think through things or we're going to be running head-on into things we know nothing about."
Izzy drew in a shaky breath and nodded.
"Alright, you're right. We have to look at this with out the anger or all we're going to see is bad things."
"What could possibly be good out of all this?!" Venn was still heated. Cliff and Izzy exchanged glances knowing it would take both of them to calm him down.
"Maybe...we're the only humans left in the real world and they had to preserve us." She scrambled for something that would explain it but by the looks they were giving her she knew they thought she was insane.
"That woman was human." Cliff pointed out.
"Well...maybe she was a computer like in Terminator!"
Venn chuckled slightly, though the anger and hate was still obvious in his eyes.
"Yeah but wouldn't a human need to monitor us physically?" Cliff pointed out.
Immediately she knew the faults in her own theory.
"Yeah...the mechanics of it would be too huge. The world would have to be extremely advance in order to come up with that kind of computer. And then the whole thing she said about my injury not being in the program, and because of it the whole system's crashing. That in it's self tell me that it can't be to far advance then this world. So in essence it would just-"
"What the heck are you talking about?" Venn jumped in.
Izzy looked up at him startled that they were there.
"Oh...yeah you wouldn't know about that...." She mumbled.
"About what?"
"Um...that I'm ADHD and in order to keep my fingers from driving everyone else insane I work on cars."
They looked at her slightly shocked and then Venn snorted.
"Yeah...right."
"M-hmm..." She didn't try to prove it to them, they'd see soon but now wasn't the time.
"Well anyways, we only have twelve hours here. You guys had best say your goodbyes if this is all true." She said quietly.
"What about you? Do you have someone you want to say goodbye to?" Cliff asked.
She shook her head as she rose from the couch.
"Not unless you count the Starbucks on the corner." She said with a smile. "I'll come back around sometime tonight."
Before the boys could say anything, she grabbed her backpack and gave the boys a wave and walked out the door. But her hand in her pocket, curled up into a fist.

No. 1: Friendship

No. 1: Friendship

Isabelle endured the long and dull history class until it seemed she would die from boredom.
Or fall asleep.
Which ever came first.

Something hit the back of her head. It was soft and did little to her thick hair, but when it was repeated, she forced her aching neck to turn.
It was Venn.
Shocker there.
"Sleeping in history?" he whispered. He was only a desk behind her, and she noticed the shredded up paper on top of his history book that was behind several pages.
She sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"I wasn't sleeping. I was just...zoned out."
"You play a dangerous game miss Wood." He warned with a gleam in his eye. She rolled her own eyes at his boy-ish grin on his face that told her he was in an awfully playful mood.
"You talking from personal experience?" She asked.
Venn shrugged.
The bell rang and there was a large, loud stampede of kids.
Isabelle waited patiently as the class filed out before she even got up from her desk. Instead she had her nose buried in her favorite book, Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley. It was always nice to get lost in a fantasy when her own world sucked. And there was always that bond she had with Belle, they both had an unquestionable love for books.
"Hey Izzy." She turned around questionably, not sure who was calling who. She was slightly startled to see Cliff behind her with Venn talking to his girlfriend Christie over at her desk.

Christie was a small petite blond with sparkling blue eyes and a contagious smile. The first time Isabelle had met her the meeting had been a little awkward but she was really sweet and not to mention so kind it should be a crime. All in all, Venn's perfect type of girl.

"Izzy?" She asked, with a slight smile, shoving her text books back in her backpack, she slung it onto her back and snatched up her book.
Cliff shrugged as he stepped back so she could get out into the isle.
"Not working for you?"
Isabelle did her best to try and hide her growing red cheeks.
"I don't mind it. It's just that, that's what my parents use to call me." She glanced at him and his eyes grew wide.
"But actually," She went on, not wanting to make him feel bad or uncomfortable. "it's nice to hear it again."
Cliff shifted uncomfortably and smiled.
"Well I'm glad to hear that?...I think?"
Izzy laughed.
"Come on, school's out for the day, treat me to Starbucks?"
Cliff smiled and nodded.
"Sure." He turned to Venn across the room, before glancing back at Isabelle. She smiled when she understood his underlying question in the look.
"Hey Venn!"
Venn turned around and looked at him with a questioning look.
"Yeah?"
"I'm taking Isabelle to Starbucks, what to come?"
Venn turned to Christie who nodded with a smile shot in Isabelle's direction.
"Sure, but go on ahead we'll be there in a minute."
Cliff nodded and gestured to the door.
"Alright lets go."

.:+++:.

Hanging out with Cliff was the nicest thing Isabelle had done in years. Cliff too, she knew what he was going through. He could tell her what he felt like and she knew just the right things to make him feel better. And if she didn't have the right words, she'd send him to the passage in Scripture that had helped her through it.
And when they were both tired of reliving the past, they talked about school, friends, and what they liked to do in their free time.

"So is all you do in your free time is read books, hang out in the library and drink cinnamon hot chocolate?" Cliff asked, leaning back in his chair, his fingers tapping his steaming cappuccino.
"Well...That's not all I do, but pretty much." Izzy confessed. "But what do you do? Are you good with your hands like your dad?" She asked, eager to get the conversation topic away from her.
Cliff shrugged modestly.
"Nah. It was all my dad. I've got dreams, but nothing I can do about it. And honestly words come out better for me then anything."
He watched as her brow furled from the bottom of his glass cup. Finishing up his drink, he set the cup down and her silver bell laughter filled his ears.
"What?" He asked. He watched as she dug through her backpack for a minute. She brought out a vintage Canon camera and snapped a picture before he could say anything.
"Oh so you're a photographer as well?" Cliff asked. She laughed and handed him a napkin.
"You've got something on your lip." Her gleaming eyes made his jaw drop in horror. He quickly wiped his mouth off.
"And you took my picture?!"
She laughed so hard no sound was coming out anymore, she was running out of air and was holding her side like it hurt. He got really worried when tears started to slip down her cheeks.
"Okay breath Iz. Breath."
She calmed down enough to fill her lungs up again and she took deep breaths.
"Sorry." She wheezed. "I haven't laughed that hard in years." She sighed and ran her sleeve across her eyes.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." He was shocked when he heard the sincerity in her voice.
"It's okay, you're allowed to laugh."
She smiled and sipped her drink again.
"You were about to tell me something you are actually good at in your free time."
"Right! Well, I uh,..." He sighed when he found that this wasn't going well. He turned in his seat and rummaged around in his own backpack.
Izzy leaned over in her seat to try and see what it was he was getting, but it was no use.
Sighing quietly she sipped up her coco from the red straw as she gazed out the window.
It was raining. But that was okay, she loved the rain. It was always a good time to snuggle deep into her covers with a good book, or a popcorn bowl as a movie went on.
The people outside ran with umbrellas, or a sheet of news paper over their heads. She chuckled as she saw a woman curse at the puddle that had gotten her expensive coat soaked. Yeah, that was life for everyone else. They were mad at it, and so caught up in the moment that they didn't have time to stop and smell the roses.

"Here."
Izzy was drawn back into reality when something soft touched the tips of her fingers.
She glanced down and saw an old leather book lying between the two of them. It was definitely old by the looks of the leather, she looked up at Cliff who nodded for her to go ahead.

Isabelle opened it carefully, not wanting to rip the yellowed pages inside. Her eyes darted from line to line as she soaked in what was on pages.
"You're a writer!" She said softly as she flipped through pages.
"Is this all one story?"
Cliff nodded.
"Yeah."
"What's it about?"
He hesitated at that.
"Well it's really complicated, and it'll take a really long time to explain it. So..."
He glanced up when the small bell rang at the front door. Izzy saw Venn and Christie making their way to them.
"You can take it home with you if you want." Cliff finished quietly, leaning over the table slightly. "Just put it in your backpack so Venn doesn't get it."
Izzy got the hint and quickly shoved it into her bag. Zipping it up just as the couple arrived at the table.
"Hey guys!" Christie said cheerfully. Izzy scooted over on the bench and Christie sat down next to her, leaving Venn to sit next to Cliff.
"Hello." Izzy said quietly.
Venn glanced between the two and then down at the camera that was in between Izzy's hands.
"Why is it that all of a sudden, every single girl has become a photographer?" Venn asked.
Isabelle chuckled but didn't answer.
"Well if it's any consolation," Christie piped up. "I can never get a picture to come out right. How long have you been a photographer?" She directed the question to Isabelle.
"Oh um...six or seven years."
Christie's eyebrows rose and she turned to Venn.
"See? She's actually legit."
"Oh so what makes her so?" Venn challenged.
"You have to have more then three years experience to count as an actual photographer. At least in my book."
Izzy laughed along side Christie as Venn threw his hands up in defeat.
"Alright you win."
"Like always." Christie shot Isabelle a wink.
Isabelle liked hanging out with these guys. They didn't treat her like she was invisible. Yes that's always what she usually wanted in a new school, but that's because she had never been great at making friends.
But it seemed that God always knew exactly what she needed, when she needed it.

.:+++:.

"Sarah! I'm home!" Isabelle yelled from the front door. Kicking it close with her foot.
There was a crash from the living room and Isabelle was cautious as she moved down the entry hall.
She poked her head into the ransacked living room and resisted the urge to turn up her nose to the smell.
Her foster mom was lying on the couch in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. She grumbled a reply to her announcement as she flipped through the TV channels.
"Is there anything you want me to make for supper?" Isabelle offered.
The lug on the couch just shrugged, but other wise ignored her presence.
Izzy sighed and turned to the kitchen.
Groaning out loud she put her hands on her hips and surveyed the damage. Just about every plate Sarah owned was on the floor, broken into millions of pieces scattered all over the floor, making it dangerous to walk.
"Oh God please give me the strength." She prayed quietly. Turning out of the kitchen she ran up the stairs and into her room.
Quickly tossing her backpack onto her bed, she changed into a cozy pair of black sweats and a fresh t-shirt along with a hoodie.
"Time to clean up." She sighed as she walked back down stairs.

.:+++:.

Venn broke the front door in first, leaving way for Cliff to follow.
"Mom!" He shouted. "We're home!"
Angela was sitting in one of the matching high back chairs in the living room with her cell phone to her ear. When the boys walked into view she smiled at them and waved, but continued on her conversation.
The boys invaded the kitchen, grabbing anything that would make a good snack.
"M-hmm....yeah....okay....yup bye-bye." Angela hung up her phone and smiled at the boys.
"You got home late." She pointed out, glancing at the clock that hung on one of the kitchen walls.
"Yeah sorry about that. Cliff had a date." Venn said as he shoved another Dorito into his mouth. Cliff almost gagged on his Gator Aid, and Angela's interest was heightened as she sat down in one of the bar stools.
"Do tell." She said eagerly.
Cliff groaned and shot a death glare at his best friend.
"It wasn't a date." He argued. "Venn and Christie were there, and besides she was the one who asked me out. It doesn't count."
"Dude! You were there with her for half an hour before we showed up." Venn jumped in.
"So?" Cliff mumbled, knowing that he probably wasn't going to win this round.
Angela chuckled as Venn just rolled his eyes.
"Is she the new girl in town?" Angela asked. Cliff nodded.
"Yup. Her name's Isabelle. She's really nice."
"That's good...But does she get you? Understand you?"
Cliff starred down at his Gator Aid before nodding.
"Yeah. She knows exactly how I feel, and she's really good at making me feel better."
Angela smiled.
"Good. I won't drill you with anymore questions. Just be yourself and behave! I've got a meeting to get to. I put lasagna in the oven so heat it up whenever you're ready, just don't burn it. I'll see you boys around eight."
She kissed Venn's hair, and gave Cliff a hug before heading out. Once they couldn't hear the car anymore Venn turned to Cliff.
"You like her don't you?"
Cliff groaned and shoved past him.
"You're a guy Venn. Stop trying to be a matchmaker!" He hollered from down the hall. He heard Venn laugh as he bounded up the stairs and made a bee-line for his room.

Cliff had been living with the Russo's for a couple months now, yet he still hadn't unpacked. He didn't want to. It would make the whole thing feel permanent.
He grabbed his headphones from his bed and set his iPod on shuffle before sitting in the window seat of the floor-to-ceiling window. He rested his head on the cool glass, watching the rain drops run down. He was glad that Angela had given him a room with a view of the city.
Washington was huge there was no doubt about that. He use to think it would be impossible to feel alone in it. But what would he know? He felt like no one even knew he existed up 'til a few weeks ago when he met Izzy.
"Thanks for sending someone who understands." He spoke aloud. He found that he did that more and more often. Venn had asked him once why he talked to himself so much, but he wasn't talking to himself. God was always listening.

Soon, Cliff's mind was inspired to write a character. He was about to pull his book out of his bag but remembered he had given it to Isabelle. Biting down on his bottom lip he pulled out his school binder and flipped to the back, grabbed a pen and sat back down again.
He paused at the top for a minute, but then it was like a dam broke, and his hand had a hard time keeping up. But he liked it that way.

Prologue: At First Glance - FULL!

Prologue: At First Glance

A gust of wind pushed at the little girl's raven black hair, but she hardly noticed it, her mind too busy with trying to process the wonder displayed before her.
"Mommy what's that?!" She pointed to a big blue thing that went on for as far as she could see. And it was moving! It was never still! Like her brothers.
There was a silver bell laugh from above her. She looked up and saw a silhouette with long hair flowing out from under a wide brimmed hat.
"That is the ocean Isabelle. Beautiful isn't it?" Isabelle's mom knelt down next to her on the green grass as they both looked down at the wide ocean.
"M-hmm. Did God make that too?"
"Yes he did. Along with everything else you see. Even you!" She tickled Isabelle's tummy, making her scream with delight. Her mother joined in on her laughter, her bright blue eyes lighting up like stars.
"Let's go find daddy and your brothers. Okay?" The woman said as she held her daughter close.
"They're down there, see?" Isabelle pointed to three figures running across the sand. The two little boys were chasing the dad, who had a football tucked under his arm.
"They're crazy." Isabelle said. Her mother laughed with her as she watched her two little boys running down the beach.
"Yes, but that's just boys. Come on." Taking her little girl's hand, the woman led Isabelle down the hill and towards her family.

.:+++:.

She woke up with a jerk, almost crying out. Her hand flew to her sweating forehead like it could somehow stop the migraine.
Collapsing back onto her pillow she starred up at the ceiling for a few precious moments. Savoring the peace and quiet. Not that it's going to last long. She thought gloomily. Her thoughts wondered to the dream she had. She had been having the same dream for the past ten years. Nothing ever changed in it, and there were extremely strong feelings connected to it. Like her motivation to get through school, and all of her foster homes. It was the one thing that had kept her going through all these years. Well, that and God.
But the thing that had always got her wondering was: who was that family?
Isabelle had never seen that woman, or the boys down on the beach before, but she could remember each one's face distinctly, in their six-year-old form of course.
The two boys were well built and she could tell that they would have been great football players. The leader of the two had dark brown curls that were long in the dream, and though she couldn't be a hundred percent sure what his eye color was, she was pretty confidant they were brown.
The other one had short dirty blond hair that stuck out every which way, his smile however was his best feature.
The dad was a tall, muscular man who probably spent most of his life in a gym. But from the grin that spread from ear to ear, she could tell he was just as much a six year old as his sons were.

The ringing in her ears subsided enough to where it could be tolerated, and she forced herself to roll out of bed.
"Come on Isabelle. We've got to make it to the first day of school. Or Sarah will really give it to us."
She swung her feet off her bed and sat up. Stopping cold she laughed out loud.
"I sound like a total idiot talking to myself as I don't even exist! Oh man I must really be stressed."
She willed herself out of bed and shuffled over to her dresser.

Twenty minutes latter, she was dressed and ready to tackle the world. Snatching up her backpack and hand-me-down schoolbooks she opened her bedroom door.
Outside her room she was bombarded with the smell of alcohol and two-day old pizza. With the quiet steps of a mouse hoping not to be noticed, she made her way through the halls and down the stairs. Tip-toeing past her foster mom who was walking about the ramshackle house, with a beer bottle neck being strangled in her pudgy, greasy grip, she dashed the last two feet, and made it safely out of the house.

Breathing in the crisp autumn air, she started her journey to the Starbucks down the street. Glancing down at her watch she nodded.
"Good. I've got just enough time to get some cinnamon hot coco, before school starts." She smiled at the thought of the warm drink between her freezing hands, sitting in a window seat reading her old, marked up Bible. There wasn't any better way to start a day.

.:+++:.

Cliff couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed. Someone could have smacked him in the face and he wouldn't have seen it coming.
When his eyes adjusted, he glanced around the barren guest room.
Rolling out of bed, his feet touched the carpeted floor. He groaned as he rubbed the weariness out of his eyes, having half a mind to just flop back in the bed and go back to sleep.
Shaking he head, he tried to give himself a good reason to get up. Ultimately he couldn't come up with any.
"Cliff get up you lazy dog!"
He glared up at the door, wishing he could pierce through it with laser vision and singe his best friends hair.
"We've still got school today!"
"I'm up!" He yelled at the door just to get his friend to shut up.
"Really? I don't believe you. You're probably still in bed. Now get up before I have to get mom."
That was the shove Cliff needed to get his butt of the bed and move towards the closet.
"I'm up! For real this time." He hollered.
Throwing on jeans and a wrinkled up t-shirt he opened the door to his room and walked out into the hallway.
Making a pit-stop at the bathroom to brush his tussled dirty blond hair, he then moved into the kitchen area near the front of the house.

His best friend, and his friend's mom were already there in the kitchen, ready to take on the day, which was not how he felt. If anything he just wanted to curl up in a corner and ignore everyone else.
"Good morning Cliff." The woman said cheerfully.
"Hi, Mrs. Russo." He mumbled, still clearly half asleep.
"Please, you've been here long enough to call me Angela."
Cliff nodded as he slid into a bar chair next to his best friend.
"Hey Venn...what are you doing?" He asked. Peaking over Venn's shoulder.
"I'm beating my high score."
Cliff shook his head and dug into his bowl of cereal Angela had placed in front of him.
Venn groaned and turned off his handheld game console.

Venn Russo was a tall, well-built boy with broad shoulders and defined muscles.
He was constantly at the gym working out if he wasn't in front of a computer monitor, playing Annihilation 3 and eating Doritos.
Venn's curly brown hair fell over dark brown eyes which told anyone who looked in them, that he knew much more then the average sixteen-year-old.

"So...Cliff. How was your first day at school yesterday?" Angela asked.
"Boring." He replied with a mouthful of food. "I understand why we have to learn English and Math and all that yadda. But their PE curriculum is pathetic! At least give us a challenge. They need more interesting classes. Like...Espionage, or flight training. Something fun and useful."
"I think we're the only ones in the entire school who would go to those classes bud. And besides, it's just a public high school." Venn pointed out with a laugh.
"Speaking of which, why do you go to a public high school?" Cliff continued. "I mean you can afford to go to any private school in Washington DC!"
Venn shrugged.
"Private schools are full of primps. Took me forever to convince mom to let me go to the public school." He glanced up at his mom who eyed him suspiciously.
"Actually, his argument was," She corrected. "that the private schools only had Barbie dolls. I think he was looking for a real girl." She winked at Cliff as she dumped her plate in the sink.
"And I found one thank you very much!" Venn shouted, raising a fist above him in a sign of victory.
His mom chuckled and drained her protein shake.
"Yes you did dear. And Christie is very lucky to have such a loyal boyfriend. So tell me Cliff, did any girls catch your eye?"
That amused Venn, who joked.
"Cliff?! Find a girl?! Yeah right. He'd much rather take on the world then talk to a girl."
His mom glared at him as she picked up her purse and keys.
"Well your father was the same way young man. So watch what you say. Now both of you off to school. I can't have you both be late!" She shoved the two boys out the door as she made her way to the silver Mercedes parked in the driveway.
The two boys walked down the long driveway to the large iron gates at the end of the Russo Estate.
"So, going to talk to any girls today?" Venn smirked.
"Don't have any plans to. Nope." Cliff answered. Shrugging his backpack into a better position and fixing his hoodie.
"Didn't think so."
They both broke out in laughter at the thought of Cliff trying to talk to a girl.
"You're right. I'd much rather take on the world single handedly then talk to a girl." Cliff said in between laugh attacks.
Once, at school, the two boys went strait for the locker room.

Meanwhile, Isabelle found her way to the office. She was pleased to find that she hadn't been late despite the long line up at Starbucks. Though she was glad she had stopped for that hot chocolate, the wind was harsh in Virginia and her fingers would have been ice if she hadn't walked to school with the warm cup laced between her fingers.
"Hello dearie. How can I help you?"
Isabelle's thoughts were drawn back from her morning adventure to the thirty-year-old woman standing behind the office desk.
She stepped up to the desk with a nervous smile.
Not that she should be nervous, she had only done this a thousand times.
"I'm the new transfer student from Ohio. Isabelle Wood." She said quietly. The woman's eyes widened in recognition.
"Ah yes! Let me get your papers. Hold on just a minute dearie."
Isabelle nodded, and the woman scurried away. Glancing about her, she noticed a second assistant behind the desk on the phone while she played a computer game. Her tone sounding bored and tired. Isabelle frowned at her behavior but decided to look at something else before her mouth got her in trouble.
Outside the office, she could hear the normal lull of noise from the kids. Screaming, laughing, cursing.
She sighed and rubbed her temple. Dear God, please help me fight in and turn invisible. She always prayed to be invisible. She hated drawing attention to herself and she didn't like it when people looked at her for more then a glance.

Voices grew louder, and she turned to see two boys in gym clothes walk up to the opposite end of the counter.
The one boy with the brown curls started talking to the lady who had been playing the computer game. Her voice took on that flirty tone and Isabelle couldn't help but roll her eyes a little. But then she noticed the second boy.
Subtly pulling her hair out from behind her ear, she let it hide her face as she observed them.
The quiet boy, had tussled dirty blond hair and stormy grey eyes.
He had a slight build, but obviously spent a lot of time lifting weights, and he wasn't very tall compared to his friend.
Despite the curtain of hair, she saw that both boys were watching her. Something struck her as odd about them. She felt something stir deep within her. A feeling of recognition. For a fleeting moment she had a strong urge to run up to them and hug them.
She shook her head and tried to figure out what was wrong with her.

"Here you go dearie."
Relief washed over Isabelle as the first assistant came back with a small stack of papers.
"This is your class schedule, along with a map of the campus. Homeroom is room 7 in wing B and, it looks like you have two free periods through out the day. Lucky you. I hope you enjoy your time here in this school, along with the rest of DC."
Isabelle nodded her thanks, but didn't get away quick enough. The lady decided to extend her a little more hospitality.
"Oh, boys! Come here for a moment would you?"
Isabelle bit her lip and clutched her papers tightly as both boys walked over.
"Isabelle, this is Venn Russo," She pointed to the boy with the curls, and shockingly old brown eyes. "and this is Cliff Kentin. Boys say 'Hello' to Isabelle Wood. You three are about the same age, so I'm sure you'll kick it off splendidly." The assistant exclaimed with an eagerness that Isabelle thought was a little strange.
Claiming to have business to attend to, she left the threesome to stand awkwardly by themselves.

"So, what grade are you in?" The brunette asked.
"Oh, um, tenth." She mumbled.
"Cool, we're all in the same grade. At least we have that in common. So, do you need a tour of the school?"
"Well, I've got a map so I think I'll be okay." She said slowly. She looked up at the two boys, her gaze falling on Cliff. It suddenly hit her like an electric shock.
"Cliff Kentin?" She asked. "As in Alexander Kentin's son? The owner of Kentin Industries?"
The boy nodded and Isabelle's shock was clear for all to see.
"Yeah. He's also the heir to his dad's estate, money, and company." Venn chimed in, swinging an arm around Cliff's neck.
"Oh." Isabelle said quietly. "Well it looks like you're set for life."
Cliff shrugged modestly.
"Can't claim it 'til I'm eighteen." He stated.
"Huh. Two more years. That's not too bad." She pointed out.
"So...you from around here?" Venn asked. "And where did you get those shoes?"
Isabelle glanced down and grinned at the sight of her bright orange converse.
"Oh, I've had them for forever. I picked them up from Goodwill. And no, I'm not from around here. I like to claim I'm from Tennessee though." She said with a playful grin.
Cliff cocked his head and rose an eyebrow.
"Where are you really from?"
"Um...Everywhere really." She confessed.
"How's that?" Venn crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight to one foot.
"I-uh...I'm an orphan. My parents passed away ten years ago in the car crash of the year in Tennessee." She explained.
Both of their faces dropped and a dark shadow of pain crossed Cliff's face.
"Oh. I'm really sorry to hear that." Venn said quietly.
Isabelle nodded in acknowledgement.
"It's ok. Their much better off in Heaven then they ever were here."
Both boys nodded in a silent agreement.
"Well hey," Venn piped up. "At least you two have something to talk about."
Isabelle's brow furled, while Cliff groaned.
"Venn I don't think she wants to talk about parents that have passed on." He growled.
"Oh..." It dawned on Isabelle. She remembered hearing it on the news a few months ago. Alexander Kentin had been killed in a car crash with a drunk semi driver. She gave Cliff a comforting smile, telling him she knew what he was going through.
"My heart goes out to you Cliff. I hope God gives you closure, and just remember that you don't have to go through it alone."
The screaming of the bell broke the moment.
"I've got to get to class. I'll se you guys latter? Maybe?" She looked from Cliff to Venn, who both nodded.
"Yup. See ya 'round." Venn said as she walked off.
As soon as she was gone, both boys looked at their watches. Grave looks were passed between them. Abruptly, they sprinted off to the gym.

Preview

Prologue: At First Glance

A gust of wind pushed at the little girl's raven black hair, but she hardly noticed it, her mind too busy with trying to process the wonder displayed before her.
"Mommy what's that?!" She pointed to a big blue thing that went on for as lfar as she could see. And it was moving! It was never still! Like her brothers. 
There was a silver bell laugh from above her. She looked up and saw a silhouette with long hair flowing out from under a wide brimmed hat. 
"That is the ocean Isabelle. Beautiful isn't it?" Isabelle's mom knelt down next to her on the green grass as they both looked down at the wide ocean.
"M-hmm. Did God make that too?" 
"Yes he did. Along with everything else you see. Even you!" She tickled Isabelle's tummy, making her scream with delight. Her mother joined in on her laughter, her bright blue eyes lighting up like stars. 
"Let's go find daddy and your brothers. Okay?" The woman said as she held her daughter close.
"They're down there, see?" Isabelle pointed to three figures running across the sand. The two little boys were chasing the dad, who had a football tucked under his arm. 
"They're crazy." Isabelle said. Her mother laughed with her as she watched her two little boys running down the beach. 
"Yes, but that's just boys. Come on." Taking her little girl's hand, the woman led Isabelle down the hill and towards her family.

.:+++:.

She woke up with a jerk, almost crying out. Her hand flew to her sweating forehead like it could somehow stop the migraine.
Collapsing back onto her pillow she starred up at the ceiling for a few precious moments. Savoring the peace and quiet. Not that it's going to last long. She thought gloomily. Her thoughts wondered to the dream she had. She had been having the same dream for the past ten years. Nothing ever changed in it, and there were extremely strong feelings connected to it. Like her motivation to get through school, and all of her foster homes. It was the one thing that had kept her going through all these years. Well, that and God.
But the thing that had always got her wondering was: who was that family?
Isabelle had never seen that woman, or the boys down on the beach before, but she could remember each one's face distinctly in their six-year-old form of course.
The two boys were well built and she could tell that they would have been great football players. The leader of the two had dark brown curls that were long in the dream, and though she couldn't be a hundred percent sure what his eye color was, she was pretty confidant they were brown.
The other one had short dirty blond hair that stuck out every which way, his smile however was his best feature.
The dad was a tall, muscular man who probably spent most of his life in a gym. But from the grin that spread from ear to ear, she could tell he was just as much a six year old as his sons were.

The ringing in her ears subsided enough to where it could be tolerated, and she forced herself to roll out of bed.
"Come on Isabelle. We've got to make it to the first day of school. Or Sarah will really give it to us."
She swung her feet off her bed and sat up. Stopping cold she laughed out loud.
"I sound like a total idiot talking to myself as I don't even exist! Oh man I must really be stressed."
She willed herself out of bed and shuffled over to her dresser.

Twenty minutes latter, she was dressed and ready to tackle the world. Snatching up her backpack and hand-me-down schoolbooks she opened her bedroom door.
Outside her room she was bombarded with the smell of alcohol and two-day old pizza. With the quiet steps of a mouse hoping not to be noticed, she made her way through the halls and down the stairs. Tip-toeing past her foster mom who was walking about the ramshackle house, with a beer bottle neck being strangled in her pudgy, greasy grip, she dashed the last two feet, and made it safely out of the house.

Breathing in the crisp autumn air, she started her journey to the Starbucks down the street. Glancing down at her watch she nodded.
"Good. I've got just enough time to get some cinnamon hot coco, before school starts." She smiled at the thought of the warm drink between her freezing hands, sitting in a window seat reading her old, marked up Bible. There wasn't any better way to start a day.

~ So this is just a flashpoint. I think it works so much better then the original story. I'm really excited about this! ^_^

Hello World!

Okay guys!
This is...sort of the same book as the other blog I had called 'The Awaited'. As in it'll have the same characters and the same end results. However, I'm rewriting it so this is going to be (hopefully) a better version and it won't be jumping around to random things. However, if you're new to this series, then welcome! And I hope you like it!

Enjoy!

^_^