The Darkest Storm (Eric Secharia)

Chapter One

Hello! This is the bonus story for Nothing Lasts Forever(If you havent read it then you probably should before this story). This story is from Skylar's pov. I hope you enjoy it as much as you are enjoying Nothing Lasts Forever. I am posting this bonus story to keep all my readers busy until I can write and update Nothing Lasts Forever.

Chapter One

Hey, my name is Skylar Bell; I have long brown hair and brown eyes. I live in downtown Los Angeles with my parents. I moved to LA when I was 18 with my family. I had to leave my best friend back home in Portland, Oregon. Since I moved to LA it’s been hard. I haven’t made friends my own age in LA. My only friend is the nice lady who owns LA Cafe. I go in there every day and order the exact same thing. Glinda –the owner of LA Cafe– knows my order by heart. Sometimes when I walk in my food is ready for me. I always show up at the same time. I never have to say anything to her. I get a smile from friendly faces and then walk out. LA is a great place to be, but I struggle to have fun. I’m a 20 year old who can’t have fun in LA. People always tell me to go see concerts; I tell them the exact same thing... I can’t. They assume I just don’t have the money –which I don’t– but that’s not the reason. The reason I can’t go to concerts or even have fun in LA is because I’m deaf. That’s why I go to the same cafe every day. I’m afraid that if I go somewhere else I won’t be able to understand the person’s lips. I can easily read people’s lips... as long as they talk slow. I can talk to people –if I want to– but I don’t say much. People say I have an accent –which I wasn’t born with– so I get self conscious of what I sound like. When I met Glinda she knew I was deaf just by the sound of my voice. She told me her niece is deaf, so we would end up signing to each other. Being deaf in LA has put a lot of pressure on me. There is so much music out there that I haven’t heard; probably never will. It’s like a storm of emotion that hits me every time someone asks if I’ve heard the newest song. I cry at night often because I can’t hear certain artists. I play some artists on my computer and feel the beat through my headphones. Since I can read lips I look up lyrics and watch videos of the artists singing. My friend, Kalli, sent me a video of this one group. Her email says ‘OMG! Check out this video! They are amazing!’ I laugh a little before I click on the link. Youtube opens in a new tab and the video loads. I look at the title of the song and group so I can find the lyrics. It says ‘Taylor Swift - I Knew You Were Trouble (Midnight Red cover)’. I look up the lyrics and then play the video. It starts off really cool. I get a little lost with the beat and lyrics, but they seem amazing. If Kalli loves them then they must be really amazing. I watch the music video a couple of times. The guy in the sunglasses is really cute. I wonder which guy is Kalli’s favourite. I should FaceTime Kalli and tell her that I’m a fan.

 [A/N: The following sentences in italics are sign language.]

 “Hey Kalli,” I sign to her. “Hey Skylar, how’s LA?” she signs back. “Could be better...I listened to Midnight Red,” I tell her. “Omg! What did you think?” she says with a smile. “I love them! Especially the guy in the sunglasses,” I sign to her and I can tell she’s screaming. “That’s Eric!” she quickly signs. Hmm, Eric is really cute. “Who’s your favourite?” I ask her. “Colton, he has short hair, dreamy eyes and wearing all black,” she replies. “He’s cute,” I smile. Kalli just nods her head, but then her face lights up. Uh oh, I never liked that look. “What?” I sign to her. “Midnight Red is in Portland next week and I have tickets...well my sister does, but you are coming,” she tells me getting excited. That would be amazing I’d love to go back home for a bit and visit. I notice waving on my phone; I must have zoned out. “I also have some amazing news to share,” Kalli signs once I look at my screen again. “What is it?” “I’m moving to LA in two weeks!” she says with excitement. Oh my gosh. I can’t believe my best friend is finally moving to LA. “By yourself?” I ask her and she nods. “I need your help packing and then moving in,” she tells me. “Sure, I’ll have to let my parents know,” I say. “Great! You can come here next week for Midnight Red and then you can help pack,” Kalli explains to me. “I’m gonna go ask my parents,” I say walking out of my room and down the stairs. “Hey mom,” I say walking into the living room. She turns to face me so I continue to talk. “Can I go to Portland next week to help Kalli pack for her move?” I ask her. “Where is she moving to?” my mom asks. “LA,” I say with a smile. My mom smiles and signs yes. I jump up and down and go over to hug her. “Thank you,” I say running off and up to my room. “Did you hear that?” I ask Kalli. “Yes, I can’t wait. I gotta go now, but I’ll text you. Bye,” Kalli signs. “Bye,” I say and end the call.

To celebrate Kalli moving to LA I decide to go to LA Cafe. I head to the cafe and soon enough I’m there. “Hey Glinda,” I say walking up to the counter. “Hi Sweetie! What’s the occasion? Normally you aren’t here for a couple more hours,” Glinda says, quickly glancing at her watch. “My best friend is moving to LA,” I tell her with a smile on my face. “That’s amazing,” she replies and I keep smiling. “Want the usual to celebrate?” Glinda asks me. “Can I just get two chocolate chip muffins and lemonade to go,” I say to her. “Sure thing,” she says with a smile and goes to make my drink. I stand off to the side as Glinda makes my lemonade. “One lemonade to go,” Glinda says placing it in front of me. “Thanks,” I say. “Let me get those muffins,” she says walking over to the muffins. Just then I feel a vibration in my pocket; I must be getting a text. I pull out my phone just as Glinda hands me a bag with my muffins. “Thanks Glinda. I’ll see you soon,” I say to her. I turn away from the counter and look at my phone. Kalli sent me a text. I open it up and continue to walk to the exit.

Kalli <3

ERIC JUST TWEETED THAT HE IS GOING TO A CAFE DOWNTOWN LA!!!

I read Kalli’s text and I’m a little shocked. I’m in a cafe that is downtown LA. What are the odds that he’s talking about Cafe LA? Just then I bump into somebody and drop my muffins...along with the person’s cell phone. They bend down to pick up the fallen items. All I can see of the guy is the back of his head. I can kind of see what he’s dressed in, but not really. He has brown hair that is short but kind of curly. He seems tall even though he’s bending down. He kinda looks familiar; although I haven’t seen his face. He stands up and I’m just looking at the bag in his hands. I should probably look up to see if he’s talking to me. I look up at the guy and our eyes meet. My heart stops beating for a second. I just ran into Eric...from Midnight Red. I can’t believe this is the cafe he walked into. Eric hands me the bag without losing eye contact with me. “Thanks,” I say, still holding eye contact with him. I break eye contact with him to look at his lips for a reply. “You’re welcome,” he says. I look back to his eyes and give him a smile. He returns a smile. “I have to go,” I say and quickly walk out of the cafe. I don’t bother looking back or waiting for a response.

I get back home and go straight to my room. I grab my computer and Skype Kalli. I have to tell her what just happened. She answers the call and soon enough I see her waving at me. “I have to tell you what just happened at the cafe,” I tell her. “Did you run into Eric?” she signs to me. “Yes! How did you know?” I ask her. “Hun, you’re blushing and you have a lemonade from your favourite cafe,” Kalli says. Oh, I didn’t know I was blushing. “I bumped into him,” I sign not knowing how loud I was talking. “Omg, what happened?” she asks me. “We just connected and then I walked away,” I tell her. “You just walked away. Did you even tell him your name or say you are a fan?” Kalli asks me. “No, I was in shock,” I tell her. “Next week when we meet them the two of you are going to get together,” Kalli tells me. I’m so excited to meet them; hopefully I won’t be in suck shock. “Can’t wait,” I sign. “You should start packing Sky,” Kalli says. “Yeah, I should. I’ll talk to you later,” I say. She waves goodbye and I logout of Skype. Time to pack for Portland as soon as I find my suitcase.

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