DARK PARADISE. [ Currently Under Editing.]

Chapter one [ Edited.]

Twinkle twinkle in my eye.
Let the sigh of breath be mine.
Sign of venom in my blood.

Misty as the time of dawn, all into the cheaters gaze.

Heart beat beat it only took.

All is lost into the cheaters gaze.

Only hope she truly chose.

Life in her, she barely knew.

The kiss of the rose she took refuge.

into the cheaters gaze.

Only hope she truly chose.

Deeply and gently into the good night.........

He read and replayed it in his mind, his heart had taken in the little poem and his life, revolved around those words. They were words that had been nothing but a poem, now they served as his escape from the real world.

It had to have meant something, for her to have given it to him before he was taken away. Yes she, the one who had been the bright side of his childhood, the most important part that his heart had stored and treasured. He could never forget that pretty smile, sweet laugh and bright personality which made him see her as his one and only friend, confidant and his personal diary.

She had been there, to listen and not to judge.

They were young of course, but the memories weren't old to Him. They felt new each time he suddenly missed her. He never forgot her existence in his life even though time with her was shortlived. She was the best part of his childhood memories and he cherished that part of his life more than most.

Everything shattered when they were separated and he never saw her again. Only this little poem remained. He would not let it go because it was the only piece of her that felt real to keep safely.

Max Russo had been in there, the small, four wall spaced cell, but had adapted and considered it his life long home.

'*Wow*.' He thought.

Those walls had been his home, his refuge and his therapy place when he would feel down. It's funny how he didn't consider all this, the first time.

All had changed now, no, they were changing.

Sunshine seemed bright, the breeze brushed through his black long shoulder length hair.

He took in the air for the first time in years, not just the air but what he would now call it, freedom.

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Kate Dawson rested her head against the headrest of her cousin's car. She found herself mindlessly listening to her cousin, Julie's playlist and had to admit, that the song was not so bad. Hip Hop in general wasn't her type of genre but one or two songs, did a number on her ears. The one currently playing gave her something positive to say, that's for sure.

"Hey, I don't have all morning you know," Anna, her best friend said.

Since eighth grade, Anna had been present in Kate's life. She was a beautiful girl, with long blonde hair, beautiful brown eyes and a great admirable body. She was an attractive female, something she knew and owned but wasn't prideful about. In all honesty, both at first had seemed unlikely to even last in a conversation together, well, from her point of view. The vibe that both individually showed, was meant to prove her point but Kate was proud to be proven wrong.

Anna had this bright aura around her, something Kate felt she lacked.

Kate at one point, couldn't understand why Anna even bothered with her, because in her eyes, she felt like she was unapproachable. Her inexperience with a lot of things, due to the impact of her past, made it difficult for her to get out of her shell. Being alone never bothered her much until she met Anna, who showed her how it felt to have a close friend. She never regretted meeting Anna halfway with her efforts, because now Kate's life felt much brighter.

More people were present in her life than before and she would forever be grateful for that.

" Ready to go?" Anna asked, the moment Kate came out of the car.

" Yeah, let me get my bag," Kate responded to a now preoccupied Anna, whose attention was drawn to her phone.

A wave goodbye to Julie was all she could manage , before she left. She wouldn't even feel bad if julie had not noticed her, because of how deeply immersed she was in her conversation with Jake, her boyfriend. Arguments between couples were nothing foreign but it didn't mean they were something to be proud about especially if nothing ever seemed to be resolved. In the young couple's situation, they had been arguing quite alot lately, which worried Kate a bit. They seemed to not reach common ground and that amounted to more fights.

Julie and Jake had always been people who planned quite alot, and that included for their future together. Now that one of them had a change of mind in regards to some of their plans, this caused the arguements. The two had originally talked about moving away and being close to each other, which had seemed fine for everyone, until time after thorough for Julie proved to be the cause of her having second thoughts. Julie loved family and desired to stay close to home, while Jake felt different about this.

In his eyes, she simply didn't want to be with him anymore.

Kate sympathised with the couple, their hearts were in the right place but were misunderstanding each others view. It didn't help that distance played a part, which made it uneasy for them to see each other more often like before. Kate hoped that soon, both would find common ground and be okay.

The only time Anna finally was able to tear her eyes away from her phone, was when she sensed Kate to have fallen into silence. Her curiousity took over her, when she glanced towards her friend, only to find her really lost in thought and distracted.

'' Are you okay?'' Anna finally asked.

'' Yeah, I'm okay." Kate responded after a minute's hesitation.

Anna found it just a little difficult to take Kate's word, because of how she'd been acting strange lately. She nerver wanted it to show, but it indeed concerned Anna.

Well, it's no secret that from the very beginning, Kate had been a little strange. Eighth grade felt like a life time ago, where she had noticed little Kate sitting alone under a tree, humming a tune and gently caressing a sick bird she had found laying helplessly on the ground.

Some called her weird and teased her, but she didn't pay any attention to them but Anna had. She saw a friend in Kate, whom had who had saved Anna quite a number of times. Once from a vicious dog and the other, when Anna got into trouble and fought in school. She loved Kate and was so happy to know that they would attend the same College. She wanted to spend more time with her best friend like never before, now that they were in senior year, to make memories that they would look back on.

She desired with all her heart that Kate would enjoy this year.

'' Are you sure you're okay?'' Anna tried again.

'' Yeah, now stop worrying. We are in senior year now, lets try to enjoy this experience as much as we can. "

''Okay.'' Anna nodded, feeling somewhat relieved that they both were on the same page in regards to their senior year.

Kate let out a barely there sigh of relief, after she convinced Anna that she was okay. It took everything in her to not spill about her recent worries, but she felt like it was best to not worry her friend. She wanted to try and deal with her own stuff and not get anyone involved, like what happened in the past.

As much as she adored her friend, she couldn't bring herself to letting Anna in on what had been keeping her from fully living again.

No, the thing she only knew and had been a nightmare to her, a nightmare she preferred to keep to herself and would rather if it stayed hidden for all she cared.

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