Before the War.

1.) Cole Caligan.

Charity Event, Caligan, ~ 8 PM.
Cole smirked at the sight of the black haired girl across the room. She had fluffy, shoulder length hair, with the tips dyed red. Complete opposite of Cole. She was so rebellious. She tried so hard to pretend she wasn't just as much a nepotism baby as himself. He took the shot of whiskey that sat in front of him. He was rich, and looked it. Expensive clothes, expensive alcohol, and expensive taste in women. He pushed his bleach blonde hair out of his eyes. Suddenly he felt a bump against his arm. It was his girlfriend. He sighed, but put his fake face on. His father organized the relationship for him. He knew he had no chance to pursue the girl he wanted. "Hey, fluff." He spoke. That was her nickname. Her real name was Hailey Ormay. The nickname came from a white sweater she'd worn months prior. He liked Hailey's company at first. He thought it'd get his eyes off anyone else. Didn't work. She smiled bright at him. "Hey baby!" He glanced over at his crush for a second, seeing a glare from her. She hated alcohol, and him. His girlfriend had moved to Caligan from Amplika, their neighboring county for the pure sake of being with him. He smiled, even her negative attention worked for him. His father tapped a microphone at the front of the room. "Hello citizens of Caligan, and the Amplikans as well. He opened a hand at the girls table, her putting her head in her hands out of embarrassment, but her mother standing and waving. "As you know, my name is Maurice Caligan. It is with great pleasure that we host this event. Honestly, I'm glad we have come so far. Such a beautiful friendship has formed between our two homes, and I couldn't be happier. We may be small countries, obviously, considering our mayors run the whole joint, but... We are STRONG, and our teamwork and partnership has led us that way. Now, I'd like to call up my son to give the speech he'd prepared, accompanied by his girlfriend, Hailey. A highly respected Amplikan citizen." His dad was the epitome of a politician. Chubby, has a mustache, and that stupid irritating voice. But he stood up politely and hopped onto the stage. He hated giving speeches, but knew it'd be a way to stare. He smiled at the crowd and began to speak.

     Eve Amplika sat at her table, a Coca-Cola in her left hand, her right balled into a fist. She hated Cole with passion. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, but not with any good intention in the world. She wanted him dead, and knew she wouldn't get an ounce of blame for it. As he gave his speech, she smirked at him as she thought of slitting his neck. She looked over at Hailey, who was glaring at her. Her and Hailey used to be great friends before she started dating Cole. "And I'd like to raise a toast to Eve Amplika, a great friend and ally." She gave a confused look. They hadn't even truly spoken. He didn't know her one bit. This was the last straw. She was going to confront him tonight. She knew where he lived, of course she did. He lived in an obnoxiously big house. That was all she could think about. She just had to get Hailey backed off. "Hey, Madison." She spoke to her friend. "Hm?" The brunette turned her head, smiling. "Can you talk to Hailey for me tonight? I need to speak with Cole." She asked. "Do not steal her man." Madison laughed. "I won't, ew! I need to speak to him of a political matter." She mumbled. "God, your speech patterns are so elegant. 'A political matter!'" Madison joked, imitating a monocle around her eye. "Just go when they're done, okay?" Eve giggled, still trying to convince her. Madison nodded. Cole finished up his speech, as everyone began to get up and leave, including him. Madison got up and went to go see Hailey, who was surprisingly already gonna leave with her own family. She tried running after Cole but was having trouble amongst the crowd.

"Hey! Cole!" He froze in his tracks hearing this. It had to be a dream. He wasn't hearing the voice he thought he was... Was he? He turned. "Hehe, hi there." He smiled brightly. Eve stood before him. "Hey, what the fuck's your deal saying we're friends? You've never even made an effort to speak to me." She yelled at him. "Yeah, cause I can tell you hate me." "Oh gee, I wonder what reason I have to hate the alcoholic who's father picked MY old best friend to steal as a braindead girl who just stands and looks pretty while you talk?" Eve growled. "How is that my fault? What does my father have to do with me? I didn't even WANT to get with Hailey, my dad arranged that shit!" He argued, looking frantic with her anger. Eve stomped closer, as Cole flinched. She took a step back at the response. "Hey.... I wasn't gonna hurt you. What was that?" She touched his shoulder, and he pulled away. "Go away, goodnight Eve." She tried to grab his hand but he tugged it off and walked off angrily. "What the hell..." Eve whispered to herself. She started walking back towards the venue to grab her stuff, but as she approached the door, it was locked. "Fuck me!" She mumbled. "Hey." She was startled at the voice she heard. "Oh, uh, do I know you?" She looked up. The guy was taller than her. He had black hair just like her and a pair of glasses on his eyes. One was blue, one brown. "You don't need to. I'm one of Cole's friends. Names Ethan." He handed over her car keys and her wallet. "Um... Okay... Thank you then. Nice to meet you." She put her hand out to shake. His face flushed red, but he reluctantly shook back, and smiled. He then proceeded to run off as fast as possible. "Weirdos tonight..." She giggled to herself as she walked to the large parking lot, beginning the search for her car.

A/N: Did you reeeeaaallly think I was gonna give up all the Amidst the War stuff that easily? Nope! I love it too much. This story won't be as much focused on the war element, and is instead an emotional story, but also will explain deeper into the story of both sides of the war. Thanks for reading this!! :)