This was an idea that I've been toying with for the past month and a half but I was finally able to get all the ideas and details together so here's the first chapter. I hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Love At First Sight?

It is better to have loved and lost, than not to love at all.

— Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Present Day

Today was one of the few rainy days southern California and especially since it was the middle of June, that made the weather even stranger, but Olivia Pope was already out in the town when it started to rain and her business partner had been badgering her all week about reading some renowned book on personal finances, even though hers were pretty intact. But she wanted to get him off her back so she decided she would just pick the book up on her way home after grabbing some Chinese food, read about ten pages and then call it a night. This week had been more stressful than usual with the new changes they were making at work and Olivia was ready for her weekend off to begin.

She walks around inside the local Barnes & Noble, marveling at how much it's changed since the first time she set foot in it. It was the only one in her city since most books were now electronic and read on iPads and nooks, but she was one of the several thousands of people in the world that still preferred the tangibility of a book—it's texture, it's thickness, that great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when you hold a novel in your hands after finishing a great story—so in that way she would never adapt to the modern high-tech society.

In the front of the store, she spots a shelf full of the same book—The Girl in the White Dress. She's heard about the book since it's the latest buzz and knew that a film adaptation for it was coming out in about a month. She'd heard that it was a love story so she had automatically ruled it out since there were already enough of those out there and they were all the same in her eyes. Love in real life was nothing like it was made to be in the movies or novels because real life was not a fairytale. She looks around a little more and finds the book that she came for. She pays for it and heads towards the exit of the store but she looks back one more time at the shelf of The Girl in the White Dress novels and wonders what's so great about the story that it has the whole nation going nuts. She decides to just take a peak. Just the first few pages, she tells herself. She opens the book and starts reading as the narrator, a 23 year old male, describes his trip in Hawaii. The writing immediately reels her in and the style strikes her as so familiar but she doesn't know why. She continues to read on, as the narrator comes into contact with a girl in a white dress, playing the 'love at first sight' card which turns her off a bit but she keeps reading. He describes in detail how well the white dress contrasts her skin complexion and how pure and angelic she appears. But as she reads the words she can feel one of her most poignant memories coming back to her, one that she had tried so hard to keep tucked away in a dark abyss of her mind, but every once in a while, more than often, it would creep its way back into her thoughts in a daydream when provoked by a small reminder or randomly in one of her nightly dreams. She's no longer able to block the memory and it comes flooding back to her in full.

12 years ago—2014

Olivia had had just about enough of her brothers, which is why she had left the hotel room and went to the lobby for peace instead. Olivia had always really wanted to visit Hawaii and she had finally gotten her wish with this vacation, but considering she came from a huge family of seven, with four brothers, her being the middle child and only girl, her father, and her stepmother, this trip to Hawaii was turning out to be less of a vacation and more of a circus act. Back at home in California, she had to deal with the zoo that was her family on a day-to-day basis with almost no break from the chaos. Olivia had been in the resort room's single little bedroom that had a twin bed and TV, both of which she luckily got all to herself, trying to read a book for school that all the AP students would be tested on the first day of class in September. But it hadn't even been five minutes before the constant banging on her closed door started, causing her to get up from her comfortable position on her bed and check it out, which ended up being a big mistake because as soon as she opened the door, her youngest 13 year old brother Xavier came hurdling towards her, landing on top of her as they both fell to the ground. He and the rest of her brothers had been playing another one of their stupid wrestling games. After giving them a piece of her mind and them giving her not-so-sorry apologies, she decided to leave for the afternoon and possibly the night. They had only been there for a day and after spending one night in a room with her brothers she knew there was no way in hell she would be able to do it for another six nights. She had asked her father if she could sleep on the couch in the hotel room he and Rebecca, her stepmother, would be staying in which was across the hall from the kids' room, but he told her no, saying that he wanted her to spend some time with her brothers since she almost never does, though she knows the real reason he said no was because he wanted to sex up Rebecca all night, something Olivia did not want to witness or hear.

Once she gets to the lobby, she heads towards the resort bar, needing a drink to calm her down. She takes a seat at one of the stools, ready to whip out her fake ID, that her friend Huck hooked her up with, and order something with rum in it but then she remembers that her family is only five floors above her and could come down at any minute. And though she knows that her brothers could probably careless, if her father found her drinking—again, especially in public, he would kill her. She sighs, becoming even more frustrated, not really wanting to drink a soda since she had been in the mood for something strong. She reluctantly just asks for some water and starts reading her book again, but five minutes in, she hears, "Can I buy you a drink?"

Olivia turns her head to her left to see the most beautiful human being she's ever laid her eyes on sitting just two seats away from her. He has the most perfect, wavy chocolate curls and the most precious stormy ocean blue eyes that seemed to bore holes into her soul. He has a strong jawline, curving his Greek godlike features and the slight stub growing around his mouth only added to his perfection. She could only imagine how he looked clean-shaven.

"Yeah…" Olivia says before she can remember that she decided she wasn't going to be drinking, but she's so overwhelmed by him that she can only say 'yes' to him. It's just one drink and my family isn't coming down here anytime soon, she tries to rationalize.

"What would you like?" He asks politely.

"Um, I'll take a raspberry mojito…please," she says shyly. He nods at the bartender who then rushes off to make the order.

He turns back to her and asks casually, leaning a little closer to her, "So are you here vacationing or are you here for something else?"

"Vacationing," she answers simply.

"Me, too. This is only my second day here so I haven't really gotten to explore the island but I have about a week here so I should be able to eventually. They have a lot to do around here." He has a silky, smooth, baritone voice that sends shivers down her spine and gives her butterflies in her stomach.

Olivia nods. "Yeah. I'll…be here for a week, too."

"Are you here alone?"

She shakes her head, fighting the urge to look into those hypnotic blue eyes of his. "Oh, uh…no. I'm here with my family. They're actually the precise reason I decided to hang out here in the first place. Being the only daughter in your family, you really never get used to having four brothers."

He chuckles. "Poor you. I have one brother and a sister so our household wasn't too chaotic. I can only imagine having four other siblings."

Olivia tries to stop picturing his smile in her head as she nods and turns back to her book, trying to seem aloof and send the message to him that she's uninterested, though she wants nothing more than to jump into his arms and have him hold and kiss her for hours on end. How could he be affecting her like this? She didn't know why it was but she did know that even giving him the time of day would be a mistake since she assumed his goal, just like every other guy's, was to get her into a bed, use her up to his heart's content, and then kick her out at the end of it. She'd only had a few one night stands but had been left more broken and lonely every time and she was tired of falling for stupid tricks. But the guy sitting before her, seemed different. Yes, he had bought her a drink but he wasn't really flirting with her, not directly anyway, they were just having a normal conversation—or so it seemed.

"So, what are you reading? It's not a common sight to see someone reading a book at a bar," he says, putting his foot on the stool next to her as he leans even closer to her, making her even more nervous.

She shows him the cover wordlessly.

"To Kill A Mockingbird. One of my favorite classics. Are you liking it so far?

"Yeah…it's good, I guess." She sighs, deciding to cut this interaction short. She doesn't want to lead him on or waste his or her time. Besides, she had gotten a drink out of it so she was at least a little satisfied. She gets up, taking her glass and her book with her and letting him down hard to make sure he stays away, saying, "Thanks for the drink. I'm only 17, though."

She suppresses a smile at his baffled expression and walks through the door outside to the public pool area before he can say anything. The area isn't too crowded or noisy, with about ten or so people splashing around in the large pool and a few walking around. She takes a seat on one of the lounge chairs, plugs her earbuds in, starts a playlist and delves into her book again, trying to focus on the story and not the sexy guy she just left at the bar. He looks too old for me, anyway, she tries to convince herself. But not even two minutes go by before a tall shadow is hovering over her and that deep voice is saying, "Hey."

She looks up to see him again. She was almost certain that he would leave her alone after she had not only walked away, showing him that she was uninterested, but had also told him that she was still a minor, so anything between them would be pretty much illegal. She sees his distraught and slightly angry expression and can't help but smile as she playfully responds, "Hey."

"Are you really 17?" He asks incredulously.

She shrugs, playing clueless to his concern. "Yeah. How old are you?"

"That's not important. Don't you know it's illegal for anyone under 21 to be drinking, especially in public? You could've told me."

"Well, you should've asked," she tells him, sipping her drink.

"You used me," he says, crossing his arms over his chest as the realization hits him.

"Did you expect anything in return?" she asks him in an equally accusatory tone.

He squints his eyes at her in confusion and she rolls his eyes as she continues, "Because if you didn't then I didn't use you, you just did something nice for me and I gladly accepted the gesture. You're the one who asked me if I wanted something to drink, remember?"

He sighs and shakes his head as he takes a seat in the lounge chair next to her and exhales. Olivia fights to keep her indifferent demeanor and her heart rate steady as he says, "You could've gotten me in trouble and that's something I can't afford right now."

The troubled expression on his face tells her that he's telling the truth but she just waves it off. "I think we're okay. As long as I'm not being a disturbance, I don't think anyone really gives a damn."

He nods slowly and they sit in silence for a while before he asks, "So, where are you from?"

She cocks an eyebrow at him. "You're really still continuing the getting-to-know-you game? Why?"

He shrugs. "Because I want to get to know you."

"You do realize how creepy that sounds. We just met each other literally four minutes ago. You're a stranger."

A slight smile appears on his face. "I'm being friendly and trying to have a nice conversation with you. That's all," he says. "And if you never want to see me again after this, you most likely won't. Hawaii's a big island."

She stares back at him and finds herself tongue tied as she gets lost in his eyes again. And this time she feels something—something that she's never felt or even thought existed before. It's as if she sees through him and she feels such an overwhelming sense of belonging in these eyes and sees everything she's ever wanted and hoped for in life and so much more. It's so fulfilling but at the same time it scares her. She finally looks away, shaking herself out of her daze as she remembers his question. "California."

"What?" he asks, seeming equally perplexed.

"You—you asked where I'm from. I'm from California."

"Oh, yeah…so am I. I haven't been there in a while but I was born and raised there."

She nods slowly and gets up. "I have to go."

She sees the saddest look on his face, making her instantly regret leaving but she knows that she can't stay with him there, not after what he just made her feel. "I'm sorry."

So, what did you think of this first chapter? I have some great ideas in store for this story so tell me if you like it so far. Also check out my other story "Perfectly Aligned" if you haven't already. Thanks for reading!