Earth Daughters [girlxgirl]

Chapter One

A/N: I have no idea how long this book will be, but I'm going to enjoy writing it. This book is inspired by my own childhood and teenage years - mostly my spiritual explorations and growing into my sexuality - but it will be its own story, meaning the ending is fictional, the characters are fictional, etc. Enjoy! Please remember to vote and comment if you like it. =) And, while I always seem to suck at writing first chapters, it will get better, I swear!

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~CHAPTER ONE~

Man, I wish that I was home. On such an amazingly sunny morning, I should be somewhere deep in the trees of our property's woods, ridding my body of pent-up stress and frustration. Instead, I was sitting alone in the back pew of Glorybound Tabernacle, trying halfheartedly to give the balding man standing behind the podium a chance to convince me of anything. He cared about my soul, right? So, he must be a pretty decent guy. That means that I probably shouldn't be making fun of him in my thoughts.

But...

Oh jeez. Isn't he aware that the chandelier lights are glaring off his oily, bumpy head? God, he looks like a bloated candle.

Woops. I'm being mean again—and did I just use God's name in vain? I have absolutely no freaking idea. I don't think that I even know what "in vain" means, anyway. I doubt that it really matters, though, because I'm not too keen on the idea that an all-powerful, ever-loving entity would worry about stupid crap like that.

I used to believe everything that Pastor Statton said from behind that podium, but not lately. I guess you could say that I was growing up—a whopping sixteen years old now, as of last month. Suddenly, I didn't just follow my leaders unquestioningly, accepting everything that they said as truth. Especially, in this case, when a certain shiny-headed man talks about—

Pastor Statton interrupted my thoughts, strangely enough with the topic that I'd just been about to think of.

"Satan comes in the guise of many temptations," he spoke passionately, making me roll my eyes. He continued heatedly, "But one temptation is stealing away our youth more than any other, and that is the demonic influence of homosexuality!"

There was a scattering of hummed agreement throughout the sanctuary, and I barely restrained a disgusted groan. What bullshit! Drugs and neglect were destroying young kids, not whom they loved. Any moment now, he was going to say—

"Our precious children," he continued sadly, right on the mark, "They are being led astray, and even though we will always love them, we do not have to love what they do. It is up to us to let them know how wrong their actions are, and to lead them back to God."

This time, I did groan a little, and my mom five rows ahead shot me a glare over her plump shoulder, hissing, "Heather!"

In response, I mouthed, "I have to pee," and quietly left the back pew, dragging a hand through my short spiky white-blonde hair in frustration.

I hurriedly exited through the double doors leading out into the foyer, breathing a small sigh of relief as the panels swung shut behind me, muffling Pastor Statton's irritating voice. Just as I was about to round the corner into the hall, I was distracted by a fluttering flash of red out of the corner of my eye. Since no one else should have been out here with me while the service was in full swing, I looked curiously through the glass doors leading outside to the parking lot, and my steps faltered to a stop.

A girl in a forest green sundress—around my age, I would think—pulled the church doors open with a wide swing of her arms, waltzing into the foyer with a graceful confidence in her gait. What had caught my eye was her mane of flaming red hair that bounced with each step, a gloriously springy, frizzy waterfall reaching as far as her tiny waist. She was petite and wild-looking, reminding me instantly of a faerie. As her enormous blue eyes swept my way and she offered a quick, polite smile, I felt my heart speed up and an answering grin spread across my face.