Lost & Insecure

One - The New Girl

Those who have fallen in love know how painfully beautiful it can be. Love isn't the perfect mess that romantic comedies make it out to be. Love is hard. It's painful and exhausting and can be so ugly. But it's also moving and warm and can be so very beautiful.

The best kinds of love stories aren't the easy ones. They're the ones about a sad, beautiful, tragic love that has everyone betting against the two to be together. The best kind of love stories aren't the ones you see in movies where the nerdy girl takes off her glasses and becomes the conventionally attractive girl who the asshole jock with a soft side loved along. The best kind of love stories aren't the ones where the bad boy defies all parental units and proves that he is meant to protect the shy, quiet girl next door. Although done right, sure those love stories can be great, but that's not the type of love story Dana and Katie fell into.

The best kinds of love stories are the ones that make you cry. The best kinds of love stories are the ones that push the limit on the love and that manage to surprise you in the best and worst kind of way at the same time. It's the kind of love that you can't predict. It's the love that you fight for, no matter what.

Every love story, good or bad, has a beginning. This was theirs.

☼ ☼ ☼

A small white sedan followed by a light blue Volkswagen 181 pulled into the driveway of a modest three bedroom single family home. As the cars came to a halt, three people simultaneously escaped the vehicles. Karen Thomas stretched her long pale legs then walked over to the small for sale sign on the front lawn. "I think it's safe to take this down now." A large smile tugged at her lips as she released the small sign from the ground's grasp.

"Mom, I haven't seen you this happy in a while." Dana Thomas walked over to hug Karen with a smile that lit up her face as she looked into her mother's golden brown eyes.

"Well, that's because it's the first time I've been happy in a while." Karen squeezed her daughter back, brushing a strand of the teenager's wavy dark brown hair behind her ear.

Eddie Matthews took a step back to admire his new home, and nodded in admiration, smiling at the other two. He took a deep breath of fresh air and nodded. "Dana, Auntie Karen...I think I'm going to like it here."

"Glad to hear that, little orphan Annie," Karen said turning to him, "now grab some boxes and put them inside." Dana chuckled at her mom and helped both her and Eddie bring the moving boxes inside. There wasn't much to move in considering they had sold most of their possessions before they left their last home.

The trio stepped inside their already furnished home and brought boxes to their designated places. Dana found her room and set the boxes beside her bed. Eddie ran in and leapt onto Dana's bed, startling her slightly. His long, thin legs crossed over one another as he made himself more comfortable. "So D, you going to put sheets on this bed?" He asked.

Dana rolled her eyes and sighed at her cousin. "After I wash them, Eddie." Dana said beginning to unpack her boxes.

"Cool you want to do mine too while you're at it?" He nonchalantly added in with a grin.

"No I do not." Dana refused without hesitation, not bothering to look at him.

"But D, you love me." Eddie stuck his face in Dana's, and gave her a sad puppy dog look with his dark brown eyes. Dana looked at him and pushed his head away getting back to unpacking. "Wow. You lesbians are so mean," Eddie added, fixing his short dark hair.

"Not a lesbian, Ed." Dana brushed off the comment.

"Right. 'Bisexual.'" He put air quotes around the word bisexual, causing Dana to give him an evil look. "What? You and I both know you're only into girls."