• Chapter one. Fireworks:

    I never thought that it could be so cold in the summer. The sun vanished into a sea of gray and black clouds. The air was still and I felt like I could not breathe. The ground was soft, but I knew what was under this ground. Thousands of mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children were under this dirt. And soon my parents were will be too. I looked over at my family all dressed in black. All of them starring down at the two solid black coffins. The only thing that was alive this day were the worms beneath this earth that were waiting for my parents. Even I myself felt dead. The pictures of my parents were being held by my grandmother. She could barley control her screaming cries as she reached out to my fathers coffin as they started to lower it down into the ground. My mother was next and on the inside my heart was crying with everyone else. But on the outside no tears were forming from my eyes. It was as if they had frozen inside my head because of this cold summer air.

    My fathers picture fell to floor as my grandmother collapsed from her tears in her chair. My father he was a tall man like me. A strong and always happy man. He had short dark black hair and hazel eyes. My mother was just as beautiful. She had red wavy hair and light blue eyes. Now the only thing that people can see of them is these pictures and me. I stared at the tombstones that were set into the ground. My father James David Dark, and my mother Lela May Dark I moved my hair out of my eyes and looked at the coffins one last time before I went off to go collect my thoughts. I looked up at the sky and hoped that I could see my parents one last time flying to heaven. A heavy hand then placed itself on my shoulder and then I could hear my uncles voice from behind. "Darren I think its best if you come stay with me and your aunt. We don't want you by yourself and you can go to school with your cousin Shane." I took sometime to think. I knew I could not afford to live on my own so why not move with them. The only problem that there is though is just the fact that they live in Colorado.

    So here I was moving from the bright beaches of California to the cold rocky mountains of Colorado. It was the fourth of July and my new family was throwing a cook out by there lake house. " You know as soon as I heard what had happened Darren I had your Aunt Evaline start preparing the extra room at the house for you. Its not a big room but it will do I think." I gave a fake smile to my uncle Tom and put my bags into the his blue jeep. "Oh thanks Uncle Tom how is Aunt Evaline doing anyway's". I asked trying to make some conversation as we pulled out of the air port parking lot and out into the highway of tall trees and rocky mountains. "Oh shes doing fine the baby is growing she should be due in a couple of months." he said with a excited tone in his voice. "And Shane how is he doing is he playing football" I haven't heard from my cousin Shane since we were twelve its been five years since I had seen him. "Oh no Shane is not like you Darren. He doesn't play football or track like you. He is more like our last name you could say. Very dark." my uncle laughed at his little joke. "Oh I see" I started to to think of what he looked like. I was nothing like our last name. I did not dress in black clothes or become one of those emo kids you see out at the mall with there straight hair in there face and there lip piercing's. I was more the athletic type. I have long hair but it was more wavy then straight. I actually hate my last name cause I am the complete opposite of it. The only thing about my last name that I can relate to is how dark and lonely I feel on the inside now that my parents are gone.

    It was dark when we arrived at the big lake house. It was like a huge fortress for soldiers. I walked into the busy house and saw tons of women hovering around the kitchen like bee's to a flower. My aunt Valiance was like the queen bee in the kitchen. She was the one that was round. I was hoping I could sneak by the group but it was no use she saw me. "OH DARREN IS THAT YOU COME HERE! " my aunt evaline shouted and started to walk and wobble towards me. She gave me a big hug and I swear I could feel the baby inside her kick me. "Oh I'm so sorry what happened to your parents you look just like your father. But you have your mothers eyes. You have grown up to a handsome young man" she smiled as she patted my shoulder. "Um thanks aunt Evaline." I saw with a fake smile. "Shane is outside with his friends and girlfriend out by the lake why don't you go see him." she said with a smile and walked away. Yes good anything to get out of here i thought to myself as I walked out back into the warm summer night.

    The sky was lit up by bright fireworks. I stared for a second then traced them back to there source. Soon I could see a bunch of guys shooting them off into the lake. They were Shane's friends. I walked up to the group and smiled at all of them. "Hey cousin I see you made it" Shane said as he walked up to me. "Yeah I just now got in". Wow uncle Tom was right. Shane was completely the dark name. He looked like a emo kid all right he had his hair different colors, his skin was pale he looked like a emo vampire. And he had piercing's and he was even wearing a pair of skinny leg jeans. In fact all his friends looked like him. I started to feel out of place now and lonely. I could already tell that I was going to be alone in this new family. "Well here let me introduce you to my friends. That's John, Mike and Zach". His friends did not even wave or give a head nod to me. "Yeah they don't like jocks" my cousin said in a whisper to me. "Oh I see" I lowered my head. "Oh and this is Emily my girlfriend." he pulled a girl softly to his side. I stared up and looked at her. My head started to feel heavy and my feet were frozen to the ground. She was beautiful. She had pale white skin her hair was long and black with blond highlights in it. Her eyes were light brown and bold. I could not stop starring into them. She was a emo girl just like my emo cousin they both had snake bites and they looked more like brother and sister then boyfriend and girlfriend. I gave a smile to her. "Hi I'm Darren" I stuck my hand out waiting for her to shake it. "I'm Emily" she grabbed my hand but I quickly pulled it back. Her hand was as cold as ice and it felt as if was shocked by lighting from the inside out. She quickly walked away from me and Shane and went to go sit on a rock. "Well that was weird you must have hurt her feelings." Shane quickly walked over to her and held her in a hug. I looked at my hand then back at Emily. She was staring right back at me as if we both new something had happened.

    I sat out by the lake by myself as Shane, Emily and his emo friends sat around a fire outside eating. I started to throw rock into the lake hitting my reflection that the large bright moon gave off onto the water. My reflection was then joined by another one. I turned around and saw Emily in front of me. "Um don't you want to come sit with us" she asked in a shy voice. "No I'm fine here shouldn't you be over there eating with them. I replied back. "No I'm not hungry plus Shane is trying to show off right now and I don't like it when he does that" she said in a sad tone in her voice.
    "Oh I see" I picked up what looked like a small rock but it was really a piece of brown glass. "Ow" I started to suck on my thumb and tried to get it to stop bleeding.
    "Yeah so are you ready for school next week we start early here in Eastcliff" she said in a nervous voice as she stared at the blood on my thumb
    "Yeah I guess so" I looked at Emily she was bitting her lip and starring at my bleeding thumb it seemed like she was in pain. "Um are you ok" I asked with concern.
    "Yeah I'm fine why"
    "You look sick maybe that's why your hands were cold"
    "No I'm just " she bit her lip and turned away from me.
    "Emily you ok" I reached out to help her.
    "No just stay away from me ok " she then ran away from me.

    The rest of the night I went to my new room and stared out the window looking at the rest of the fireworks that my cousin was firing up into the black sky. But the whole time all I could think about was Emily. There was something about her that I wanted. Even though she is not my type of girl. She made me feel like I needed her. "Shes beautiful" I stared down at the lake and there she was with Shane. But she was not starring up at the sky or at Shane. She was starring up at me. It was like she knew I was starring at her. She knew what I was thinking. I quickly then closed the curtains over the window laid down in my new bed and went to sleep. Hoping that I would not dream of my parents. But somehow I knew that Emily would be in my dreams this time. But I cant be dreaming of my cousin's girlfriend. Its not right.