Chapter 1

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Every girl is looking for the kind of love that can take you out of reality, even for a second, to a place all your own; just for the two of you. Somewhere no one has ever taken you before. And with a past such as mine, the urge to find that has grown stronger and stronger with every passing day. However, the fear of losing is still just below the surface, ready to appear.

Visiting my friends in London allows me to escape the reality of my past, and that fear, for however long I stay. They always bring me so much joy, and laughter. It's hard to imagine life without them. However, this visit was different.

It was my 21st birthday, it was December, and my friends had brought me to a karaoke bar in central London. I feared that they would drag me to the stage to sing, and that fear was quickly confirmed, however, they luckily joined me, so I wouldn't have to sing on my own, knowing that I have stage fright. The song we decided to sing was an oldie, but a goodie: You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by the Righteous Brothers. My friends made a little introduction, telling everyone it was my birthday, which made me want to run off the stage and hide in the restroom, but as people started to sing 'Happy Birthday', I quickly regained my composure, and when the crowd finished, I thanked them, and we could start. I was a little hesitant to sing at first, but seeing how much fun it seemed to my friends, I quickly joined in. The crowd was roaring. We were good. I caught the eye of a good looking guy in the crowd. He was tall, curly hair, and had the cutest smile you could possibly imagine. He smiled at me. Me being the socially awkward self that I am, I blushed and looked away quickly, probably giving him the idea that I wasn't interested. Boy, he couldn't be more wrong. When we got off the stage, we went to sit at a table. From my seat, I could get a good look at the guy from before, and nearly fell off the bar stool when I realized that it was none other than Daniel Sharman. I had a quick vision of my 'Isaac Lahey' varsity jacket at home. I nearly screamed at my friends "Holy crap, DANIEL SHARMAN IS OVER THERE!", but kept calm, and instead quietly asked them to look at him and tell me if he looked familiar to them. They recognized him immediately. With the amount of pictures of him I've sent them over the years, I wasn't surprised. Not a minute later, the bartender swung by our table, handed me a drink to which I naturally responded that I hadn't ordered any. He pointed to Daniel and said that it was a drink from him. On the napkin it read 'Happy Birthday'. I blushed once again. My friends told me to flash him a smile as a thank you, so I did. He smiled back. I quickly downed the drink, in spite of the fact that I don't usually touch alcohol, but this one was from Daniel Sharman, so I thought it was worth the effort. I have no idea what was in it, but given my low tolerance to alcohol, I felt a little tipsy. Unfortunately, in addition to being tipsy, I was also the clumsiest person alive, and when I tried to stand up, I fell of the bar stool, and onto the floor. Seconds later, I was swarmed by people, including my friends and Daniel, who had a concerned look on his face. He asked if I was okay, to which I responded yes, until I noticed a large cut in the palm of my hand. It would need stitches. My friends had no idea where the hospital was, so Daniel kindly offered to show us the way. By now, that tipsy feeling was gone, and I mostly focused on the fact that my hand was bleeding, and I was being tended to by Daniel Sharman. He could tell I knew who he was, but really, how would I have been able to hide that? He continuously asked me if it was painful, which it wasn't really, but during the cab ride, he kept stroking around the cut in order to ease the pain, and keep me comfortable. It was a really kind gesture, and while he seemed worried about me, he kept a smile on his face, and looked at me intensely. I was quickly tended to at the emergency room, and left with three stitches in my palm. I had declined local anesthetics, which impressed the doctors, my friends, and Daniel. As we got outside, he offered to show us our way back to my friend's place. We accepted. Daniel and I walked beside each other, while my friends walked behind us. He wished me a happy birthday once again. Said he felt it was more personal to say it to my face. As we reached the door, we said goodnight, and that was it. At least, that day.

That was three days ago. It was New Year's Eve, and for the first time, I was spending it in London. Being scared of fireworks, I usually stay indoors the whole evening, but I had agreed to go out with my friends. Get the 'full London New Year's Eve experience', as they called it. My mind had been a mess since my birthday. Could Daniel have been any cuter? But why didn't he ask for my number? Sigh. However, I was determined to enjoy this day! I froze at the sight of Daniel when we entered the bar. I tried to hide my face, but he caught me, and approached me.

"You're not hiding from me, are you?" he asked, with a smug grin on his face. I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out, and he chuckled. He grabbed my hand, which was still half covering my face. He looked at my palm.

"Has it healed mostly?" he asked, with concern in his eyes. God, my knees are getting weak. I nodded, afraid my voice was going to fail me again. He smiled at me. I smiled back. He quickly shot a look back to his group of friends, where I recognized one of them as Ian Bohen. He then proceeded to grab my other hand, and drag me outside. He sweetly told me that I had been on his mind constantly since the other night. Having regained my composure, I replied that he had been on my mind too.

"I know who you are, you know?" I said, as he looked at the fireworks on the sky.

"I knew that all along", he chuckled.



His face turned to me, and his smile was replaced by a serious expression. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but it seemed like we shared an understanding beyond words. Words were unnecessary. He knew I didn't care who he was, that I liked him because he had shown such kindness toward me, and for whatever reason he liked me too. And we didn't even know a single thing about each other. We hardly spent any time with our friends for the rest of the night, as we sat outside talking, getting to know every single thing possible about each other. Well, maybe not every single thing...

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