Normality: Something You Won't See In Me.

Ch 1

Moving Out of Country. More Like Out of World…

Authors Notes: Hey peeps! Another random 'school story' from moi, the author. Im on a roll with all the story ideas I have been getting. Thanks for making MOLW seem incredibly famous, what with all the hits, reviews, story alerts and story favorites. Thank you for reading! (BTW: The characters names are pronounced Kara (care-a) and Ciara (see- r -a) and I think we all know how to pronounce Dominique and Crimson . {who will be featured in later chapters.})

Diary.

So much is going on right now; my head is spinning in dizzy circles. Anthony broke up with me the other day. He said a bunch of crap about how a relationship with me feeling like having a friendship with anyone. He didn't feel close to me. He couldn't stand it, I guess. Oh well.

Ciara moved. She didn't tell me why, or where, or even let me know she was leaving until the last minute. I remember the tearful goodbye we shared, just yesterday. She promised me she would contact me the moment she could, but I recon that won't be for a long time. It will seem like forever.

It's really weird, actually. Many kids have been disappearing or moving to other places. Its like, the parents are all planning some big, huge move to an entirely different place or something.

Or maybe worse.

~Kara, 12/19/09, 9:45 PM

I had just set my pencil down when my mother called me from the living room.

"Kara, come here real quick!" My mother's voice shot through the hall, loud and clear.

"Coming." I replied, standing up.

The living room was, as usual, spotless. My mother was a neat freak if there ever was one, and that was one of the reasons why my dad had left us. I was two, and had just started to learn to walk when he packed a suit case and slammed the door in my mothers face. He sent stupid, pathetic, weak child support checks every year. Ones that diminished and soon stopped.

At the thought of my father, I tensed up and shivered. I hated that stupid guy. He had abandoned me at two! Two! When I didn't really get to know him. And now, he forgot about me. How kind of him.

"I got a letter today." My mother walked into the room, using a ringed hand to brush her hair back from her eyes.

"Yeah. And what did it say?" I asked, my curiosity peaking.

"It's from your dad." Before I could protest or snort in disgust, she continued. "He says that he wants to get to know you better. For the last two years, he has been saving money to buy you a really expensive ticket for venturing to a world that he has been living in for a year. He wants you to live over in Twilight Town. A world away from here, and I think you should go."

If I had been drinking a soda or something with lots of calories that my mother disagreed with, I would have choked and it would have sprayed it out of my nose.

"What!?" I shrieked. "I am not gonna live anywhere near that…that…alien!!"

"Be nice, he isn't that bad." She told me.

I huffed.

"Just give him a chance! He already paid for the ticket, and he really wants to see you all grown up." She was desperate for me to give her an okay answer, and her eyes pleaded with me to for once, agree with her.

I sighed. "When does the train leave the station?"

"Tomorrow at twelve." Her expression was joyous, and she sounded relieved. "Ill call your dad and let him know your coming. He will be so happy!"

I nodded and trudged back upstairs, towards the suitcases that would need packing. "How long will I be staying?" I called back down the hall.

"A long time. Pack everything that is important to you. Don't leave a thing behind." She shouted back, solemn sounding.

***

I had no one to say good bye to, so when they called for passengers to board the train, I simply turned to my mother and kissed her bye.

"Take this." She handed me a locket pendant. "Keep it safe. It's a memory."

I looked up at her questioningly. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, threatening to leak down her porcelain checks.

"Mom? Don't cry!" I told her, hugging her hard. What was causing her to show such strange behavior?

She kissed my forehead. "Do you have your cell phone?" She asked.

I nodded and held up my LG Midnight Blue Touch screen cell.

"Good. If you ever need me, don't hesitate to call. I can't promise I will answer, but I will try to talk to you again." She gave me one last kiss as we heard the call for the last passengers to get on board.

"Love you, Mom." I whispered.

"And I love you, K. Go on, now. And show your dad that he is in for one heck of a time taking care of you."

I laughed, grabbed my stuff and stepped onto the train.

Looking at the locket pendant again, I opened it. One was a picture of me and my mom, that was taken two years before. The other picture was of me at the age of five, holding a cupcake in my hand and smiling up at the camera as a five year old Ciara draped an arm over my shoulder and flashed a grin up at the digital object as well.

All around me, people who were close to my age sat in seats as they struggled to control their excitement or tears. I sat at a vacant area near the back and opened up a book, plugging the headphones of my iPod in my ear as 'Me Against The World' began to play. I later found that ironic.

***

I was greeted by a small cluster of people, some of which were looking for their relative, but one was looking for me.

"Are you Kara?" A girl about my age, maybe a little younger, asked.

I nodded at her. She looked a lot like me, with the silky brunette hair that was the only trait that wasn't my moms. She had the same brown eyes, too, like both of my parents and I had.

"That's good. That means we are sisters." She stated, smiling and tugging on my hand.

"Okay…" I trailed.

I felt immobile, but she somehow managed to pull me forward. I pushed the sudden wave of home sickness back, along with the sadness of my last parting.

"Dad! Mom! I found her!" She shouted to two people in the distance. A man stood up, as did a fair lady with big brown eyes and glistening blonde hair.

The man was so familiar, his eyes and hair most.

I stopped dead in my tracks, staring. My eyes watered as my father held his arms out to me, pleading that I be a good girl and hug him.

I remained immobile, a flood of emotions washing through, causing my beating heart to frenzy about.

"D-Dad?" I whispered.

"Kara." He replied.

All thoughts of hatred left my mind, even the fact that I haven't seen the guy in front of me since I was two. Even the fact that he seemed to slowly forget about me over the years.

All I saw was that the guy in front of me was my biological father, and his eyes were filled with regret and tears.

I choked back a sob and tossed myself in his arms, forgetting everything but the fact that my father still did love me.

After a little while of heart felt embracing and whispered murmurs to quiet shaky sobs, I cleared my eyes and joyfully turned to meet new members of my family.

"Kara, I want you to meet my wife, your step-mom, Helena."

The lady with the big brown eyes gave me a smile, and held out her hand.

"Hello, Kara. I have heard so much about you from your father." Her voice was filled with happiness, completely like a soothing rain or drizzle.

I shook her hand, noting that her hand shake was firm, yet kind. A handshake could tell you a lot about a person, is what people say.

"Hello, Helena." I replied.

"This little one here is your half sister, Crimson." I turned to the girl who had dragged me over to my father, and she lurched herself at my.

"Ohmigosh, I am so happy to finally meet you!" She exclaimed.

I giggled and hugged her back. There was just something about the hyper girl that rubbed off on me. Something that could change a thunderstorm into a cloudless sky.

"We are going to be awesome friends!" She launched into an entire explanation about herself and all of her friends at school as we dragged my stuff out towards the apartments (They lived in a four bedroom apartment with a kitchen and two bathrooms! Score!).

From the hyper brunette, I managed to get the following info:

She had a large number of friends.

She was fourteen, born early, but had to skip a grade because her academic records were off the charts.

She was, in fact, in my grade.

Most of her friends were in my grade,

And she was infatuated with a boy from her group of friends named Sora.

She rambled on about how life in Twilight Town was always amazing, about how shockingly warm the beaches were, about how awesome it was that she had her own room, and so much more as I started unpacking my things.

Shocking enough, I didn't mind her constant rambling. It was quite soothing to not have to strike up a conversation about something whenever there was an awkward silence, because there never was one.

That night, I finished unpacking and received a schedule from my dad, along with a fresh uniform from my S-mom, Helena.

And the talkative fourteen year old had even handed me a list of her friends to get to know them better:

Sora-A brunette who is absolutely AH-dorable! He is so sweet, and he sticks up for anyone who is treated like the underdog.

Riku- He is a little on the dark side, with a few PMS mood swings, but he means no harm. He is, though, the main attraction for a lot of the attention girls give guys.

Kiari-She is a bit more on the prep side, and can be a bit bossy if you get in her way. She is practically harmless, but word to the wise: No getting in the way of her and her man. (At this moment, it's Leon)

Leon- A guy who stays out of people's way. He can be pretty stubborn, but he is a senior, so it's a back stage pass to free parties that seniors have almost every weekend.

Namine-A very quiet girl who is incredibly sweet. She loves to draw, and she is and inspiration to most people.

Roxas-An absolutely HOT guy in our grade. I swear, he gets so many girls numbers a day, its not even funny. I am not kidding you though; he is a major 10.0 on a 5.0 scale. But besides that, he is pure to the core of his very existence, meaning he has never done a bad thing in his life. Every girl who has ever gone out with him has always felt safe and cared for, because he is just sweet in general.

Yuffie- A very peppy girl with a lot of hyper activeness and a can-do attitude.

Dominique-She was my first friend, and since then, she has been my best friend. She is as sweet as Roxas, as hyper as me, as peppy as Yuffie, and as gentle as Sora.

Ciara-She moved here a little while ago, and let me know, she perked up right when she saw Riku. It was like, ding-ding-ding! Pizza delivery! And she recognized your name straight away, and she actually started to cry of happiness when she heard you were coming. She is pretty tough, and has even gotten herself into a few fights. She is about as stubborn as Leon, but she has a real soft spot for animals.

Axel-A guy who thinks he is a real hot shot, he is a senior as well. He rolls mostly with a pack of dark clothed people like Zexion and Larxene, but He has a connection with Roxas, and through Roxas he is a friend of ours.

Larxene-A very temperamental person, she is and excellent fighter. Don't flirt with Axel when she is around, because they have been going out for two years.

Zexion-An OK guy. We don't know him that well, because he always has a head stuck in a book.

~And there are a few other people, but im getting tired of writing~

I smiled, though I remembered what it read a few lines up. Ciara was a friend of theirs, which meant I would see her soon! I wanted to cry, but out of what emotion I didn't know. Was it joy?

***

I hoisted my shoulder backpack on my back, smiling and talking happily with Crimson. The more I got to know her, the more I appreciated her company.

"Yo, Crimson! What's up?"

We turned as a brunette boy with major spiked hair ran up, his eyes locked on hers. I caught the vibe, and was about to walk away when she turned to me.

"Kara, I want you to meet Sora. Sora, this is my new sister, Kara." She gave me a smile, urging me forward.

I looked the boy over. His hair did spike in a pretty cute way, and his bright blue eyes were almost startling to look at.

"Hi!" He extending his hand to me, and I smiled shyly, returning the favor. He skin was soft, and he reminded me of a non-pudgy teddy bear. A very cute, non-pudgy bear.

"Hello…" I whispered.

He shot me a million dollar smile as he released my hand, then turned his attention to Crimson.

"Can you believe that homework we have to do in Vexen's class? Talk about hard."

They continued to discuss the subject of college level chemistry homework as we walked, but Sora soon drove the conversation towards my schedule.

"Who do you have?" He asked.

I dug through my pocket and retrieved the slip of paper that had the seven classes on it.

"Science with Vexen, Music with Demyx, Drama with Siax, Math with Marluxia, Geography with Xigbar, Language Arts with Xaldin, and Gym." I read.

"Sweet! You have first with us, second with Axel and Zexion, third with Namine and Dominique, fourth with Roxas and Riku, fifth with Kiari and Ciara, im sorry, but sixth your all alone, and you have gym with every single one of us." Sora said.

"Alright, so where is our first period class?" I asked.

"It's up this way." Crimson motioned me to follow her down a breezeway, and as we walked, random people said hi to her or Sora.

"You guys must be pretty popular if almost every one we see knows you." I stated.

"Nah, we just know a lot of people." Crimson stated.

"You mentioned that you know a girl named Ciara?" I asked, the name rolling of my tongue like a hopeful prayer. I was hoping that this girl was the Ciara I knew.

"Yup. I swear, she is the feistiest thing you could ever meet. Down right gorgeous, though. Especially to Riku, who won't admit to her that he has a crush on her." Sora laughed, shooting me another 100 watt smile that I was beginning to think was pretty natural for him.

"Yeah. It's a shame she won't admit her feelings for him, either." Crimson added.

I nodded. The Ciara I knew was definitely feisty, and I was becoming more hopeful.

"When did she first get here?" I asked.

"About a month ago." Sora replied.

I nodded again, finally putting the pieces together. It was my Ciara. My best friend since pre-school. I couldn't wait to see her!

Crimson opened a door labeled 2A, and we stepped into a plain white room with a few meager posters of DNA strands and such.

The metallic bell rang, and a tall, lanky guy stepped out of an office. He had blonde hair past his shoulders, and I gagged under my breath. This dude was a science teacher?!

"As you all may have realized, we have a new student joining us today. Stand." The guy said.

I stood up shakily, as several pairs of eyes turned toward me.

"This is Kara, and she is our hyper friend, Crimsons, sister." He motioned for me to sit down , which I did gladly. "Class, turn to page four-hundred and twenty-three, and begin writing at least fifty to a hundred facts about the structural system of the human body and organs. Begin immediately, and if you do not have at least fifty good facts by tomorrow, you will be penalized. At the end of the period, I will come around and pick up last nights homework." His voice was icy, and I shivered.

Turning through my book, I began the quest to finish my assignment as soon as possible.

Forty-five minutes later, I dropped my pencil in the side pocket of my backpack, rubbing my tired, cramping hands to get the feeling back into them.

The bell rang to dismiss class, and I swear, I shot out of there so fast, Sora and Crimson toke a few minutes to catch up with me.

"That teacher was so freaking cruel! My hand! I can't feel it!" I whined.

Sora pressed a hand to my shoulder. "Don't worry, you get used to it after a while."

I shivered, not believing him.

They led me to another door down the hall, telling me who to look for.

"There will be a tall guy with green tattoos like arrows pointing down." Crimson started.

"He has flame red hair, and he hangs with an almost emo looking guy with dark grey-blue hair. He will most likely have a book. Their names are Axel and Zexion." Crimson pushed me through the door and left me with a cheerful goodbye wave. I shoke my head at her, walking fully into the room and closing the door.

I noticed that the red head with spiky hair-the only red head in the room- was near the end of the room, next to a boy who had a book open on his desk.

I smothered my shy protests and stepped up towards them. The song 'Transform You' was playing over the loudspeaker, and I found it sort of perfect for this moment. (Minus the bad stuff)

The red head noticed me first and nudged his friend. "Check it out." I heard him mutter.

The reader looked up at me, his sterling eyes staring me down. I swear, I was gonna melt. Actually, both guys were to dang hot to be real!

"Um…Hi. Crimson and Sora said to talk to you guys." I half whispered.

As if on que, the song 'Becky' began, molding in with 'Transform You'.

That added to my own nervous discomfort, but the red head leaned back in his chair and gave me the once over.

"You must be Kara." He stated.

It wasn't a question, but I answered anyways.

"Yeah, I am."

He gave a smirk to his friend.

"Im Axel. A-X-E-L, Got it memorized?" He smirked again.

"Yeah. Sure." Something about him totally screamed 'hot senior!!!', just like on the paper Crimson had given me.

"Im Zexion." The other guy closed his book, giving me another look.

I nodded.

"Here." Axel pulled a chair and desk between them and motioned me to sit down.

I did so, and they both instantly began explaining them selves.

They were both seniors, and the extra classes like music and gym were a mix of all grades, which is why they were here.

The music turned down after a few minutes, and a somewhat tall guy walked in with an Asian guitar.

"What's that called?" I leaned over, whispering to Zexion.

"A Sitar." He replied.

I nodded.

"Alright guys, I know that it's short notice, but since we have a new girl, we out to have a day to sort of relax. How about I get my iPod and hand it to our Senior Squad back in the corner of the room, and they can pick a few songs for people to just dance around and have fun? Ill be in my office with my ear plugs and a book." He tossed a sleek silver device to Zexion, who simply reached up without looking from his book and caught it.

I heard several girls around the room swoon. He must be pretty popular as well (Hint-Hint).

He handed the iPod to Axel, who started messing with the controls.

'Fireman' started playing over the speakers, and several guys started dancing along.

"Here." Axel handed the control over to me, and I started looking through the songs.

I swear, I didn't even know an iPod could hold that many!

I decided on a song that would mix boy interest and girl dancing, and waited for the present song to end, bobbing my head in time to the music.

Fireman ended, and I pressed the middle button. 'Lose My Breath' began to play, and I handed the device to Zexion as I stood up to dance with the other girls who had instantly grouped.

We sang along, and began to design a complicated string of moves to mix with the song. We were soon coordinated, and the guys had gathered around, hooting and cat-calling. It was somewhat hilarious, but is was funny. And it got hilarious when an incredibly hot blonde walked in to turn a paper in to Prof. Demyx, and he stared for ten seconds at what we were doing. It cracked me up!

I never got a good look at him, but dang! From a glance he was FINE!

Zexion had handed the device to another friend, and the song 'Hot in Here' began to play.

"That was uncalled for!" A girl in our group shouted. I giggled, but continued to dance.

I was joined by the other girls soon after, and even by some of the guys.

It continued like that, but the bell rang metallically over the music and we broke up our mini-party and grabbed our stuff to go to our third period classes.

"You know, Kara? You're cool. And that is a shock for a senior to tell that to a freshman." Axel told me.

I smiled at him.

"Thanks. See you later!" I waved, and walked out the door. I met up with Crimson and two girls that I had never seen.

"Kara, this is Dominique," She pointed to a brunette, "And Namine." She pointed to a blonde girl. "They are both in your next class."

We exchanged our hellos and continued down the hall. Crimson turned towards a different hallway to get to her class, and I continued to follow the girls I had just met. We turned a corner, and before I could follow their example and step out of the way of an oncoming person, I ran smack into somebody and we both fell.

I looked up from collecting my fallen belongings to apologize to the person I ran into, but my words latched in my throat as I met a pair of brilliantly bright blue eyes and blonde hair-it was the same guy that had walked into our class when he turned in a sheet of music to Demyx!

Looking back, I vaguely remembering him hang with Axel and Zexion for an instant, so judging from Crimson's list, this must have been Roxas. She wasn't kidding about how cute he was!

"Im sorry!" He exclaimed, seeming almost as lost as I was.

"It's fine." I gathered the rest of my things and stood up.

"See you later!" I called back as Namine and Dominique pulled me forward to get to class.

Roxas's POV:

I couldn't help but think about those beautiful deep brown eyes that belong to the 'Kara' girl. Ever since I ran into her, (which wasn't to long ago) it was branded into my mind.

I remember stepping in to Professor Demyx's class to turn some music in and talk to Axel, and I saw her with a bunch of people dancing to the music overhead. She was an exceptionally good dancer, and anyone who disagreed would have been crazy.

"Who is that?" I had asked Axel.

"That's Kara, Crimsons new sister." Zexion replied for him.

I looked back at the memory now, and noticed that his eyes had locked on her half of the time, and not on his book.

For some odd reason, that infuriated me.

I continued to walk down the hall, thinking about how mesmerizing those deep brown eyes were.

Kara POV:

Art was distasteful, due to the fact that I have no talent in that area, what so ever.

Namine and Dominique both tackled me about my brief run in with Roxas the moment we had a chance to spare.

"You both looked like you were lost in each others eyes!" Namine exclaimed.

"Yeah, it looked like time had frozen around the two of you, and no one else existed in your opinions." Mini agreed. (Mini was a nick name people gave her when she was two. 'Don't ask,' she had told me.)

I blushed as we began setting paints and brushes back in their places.

"I don't think so, guys!" I protested.

"Don't be bashful! We know Roxas, and the look he gave you was a look we haven't seen in two years!" Namine smiled at me.

I shoke my head anyways.

The bell rang, and the girls led me to my next class.

"Good luck!" Mini said, as they both giggled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Nothing!" They said together as they ran off.

"I want details!" Mini shouted back as they disappeared around a corner.

I shrugged my shoulders, wondering what that was about.

I opened the door to my next class and stopped dead in my tracks.

In the middle of the second row in between a vacant seat and a seat that a boy with attractive silver hair, was a boy with spiky blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, who were at the moment, locked on mine.

"Oh snap." I whispered.