| Sarah woke up late and didn't have much time to do anything to get ready. All she had time to do was run a brush through her hair and brush her teeth. She smiled in the mirror as she ran out of the bathroom. She was meeting a friend of hers at the bookstore they sometimes hung out at. This gave her a chance to get away from everything and escape. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief when she got to the bookstore. Her friend was nowhere to be found. She searched for a quiet corner where she could put her things down and went in search for a few poetry books. The bookstore was a quiet place that she had found after school one day. Not a lot of her friends knew about it. She liked to keep some secrets to herself. She was reaching for a book when someone came around the corner. "Hi. Are you Sarah?" The voice scared her and she dropped the book. "Oops, yeah." She picked the book up. "Your friend called. She's not going to be able to join you here." "Oh, OK" Sarah was disappointed. The person disappeared. Sarah took her books to the little corner she claimed and sat down. She started into her first book and lost all track of time. At one point she looked up and focused on something outside the window. She saw a car with a guitar case in the back seat. This made her think of Mark Tremonti. She got a slight smile on her face. She looked back into her book. The door had a little bell attached to it, so when it opened, it rang. Sarah heard the bell tinkle a couple times while she finished her book. She glanced back out the window. The car with the guitar case in it was still outside. She glanced over to one of the stacks. She noticed a tall guy over by the fiction section. If she had more guts she'd go over and "accidentally" bump into him. He had dark hair and from where she was sitting, he looked nice from behind. She smiled to herself again. The bell on the door tinkled again. Sarah looked over to the door then back again. Her cute guy was gone. She started to look around the area and didn't see him. She shrugged her shoulders, then felt someone staring at the back of her head. She slowly turned around and looked up into the nicest brown eyes she'd ever seen before. The person smiled and spoke to her. "Hi." Sarah's mind started to race. Wait, she thought. Guitar. Brown eyes. I've never met.. wait, no way. She looked up again. Brown hair, eyes, and goatee... Ahhhh!!! "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked. She smiled and nodded. He sat down. "You're Mark Tremonti." Sarah said quietly. He smiled. "Yeah." He nodded. "Wow.� Sarah put her book down."I don't want to sound like a clich�, but I am one of your biggest fans." She played with the pages in her book. He smiled again. "Why are you here?" She asked. "I like to hide out sometimes. Get away from everything. Most people pick on me; they think I don't like to read. I do. I enjoy finding odd books. Weird stories. Anything to keep my mind off of things." Sarah smiled this time. "I do the same thing. I love to read and write. I come here a lot. I found it after school one day." "This is a nice shop. It's quiet enough that you can concentrate on your books, but has interesting people in it." He looked over at her. Sarah started to think to herself. Oh, man. I didn't shower, I bet I look horrible. Mark is sitting two feet away from me and I bet� "So what is a pretty girl like you doing in a quiet bookshop like this?" She blushed, then laughed at his question. "I was supposed to meet a friend. She couldn't get here. I decided to stay." He looked at her books. "Are those good?" "Yeah. This poetry book is one of my favorites. I write poetry as well. I've been writing for a while. It is one of my outlets." "I do the same thing, but then again, you probably knew that." He gave her a sheepish grin. "I enjoy your writing. The lyrics you have in your songs are really awesome. It is one of my other escapes. One of my ways to get away" She got quiet. He looked at her. She let her eyes wander to her books. "I don't want to be pushy and you can tell me to be quiet, but is there something wrong?" Sarah smiled up at him. "No. Not now. Things are okay now." A silence settled over them. She took a breath and got the nerve up to ask him some questions. They talked for about two hours. The topics varied from school, music, life and books. At one point, Mark asked her what her favorite Creed song was. Sarah got quiet. She slowly answered him, "My favorite song would probably be 'Wash Away Those Years'." Mark leaned back in his chair. Sarah continued, "That song got me through a very hard time in my life. I bought the Human Clay CD because of Higher and found that song right after it. I think that song is one of the reasons that I am who I am today. There are LOTS of reasons why I am still here, but that song means a lot to me... the words are some of the best I have..." her voice trailed off, as she realized that a tear was sliding down her cheek. Mark reached over and wiped away the tear. "I am glad that our words did something good in your life." Sarah smiled at him. "Hearing you say that... it means a lot to me. Being able to thank you... this is a dream come true." She hoped she did not sound like an idiot. "This is one of the reasons why I am a performer. Touching people's lives. Knowing we helped just one person is enough for me." Sarah felt a weight lift off of her soul. She had the dream she had always wanted. They finished up their conversation. Mark had a sound check to get to. He said he would try to keep in touch. She knew somehow that he would. "Thank you for everything" Sarah said as she stood to see him off. He reached out and pulled her into a hug. "Thank you for letting our music and words affect you." He brushed her cheek with a kiss. Sarah felt her cheeks blush. They said their good byes. The last thing Sarah heard was the tinkling of the little bell over the door.... |
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