Chapter 1

It was a cold and snowy day when Lauren Crane stepped outside of the Harmony airport to call a cab. It had been years since she had last been to Harmony. Even though her family was the most powerful in town, Lauren had been in boarding school from before she could remember. Too long she thought.
"Taxi," she yelled and one of the yellow car's pulled up.
"Where to miss?", the driver asked as she put her bags into the trunk.
"The Crane Mansion, please. Do you know where that is?" questioned Lauren.
"Of course" replied the driver, and with that, they were off on their way.
The journey through Harmony resurfaced so many memories for Lauren. Memories of her childhood and no worries. She rememberd how her and Ethan would play in the backyard and go swimming with Pilar and Sheridan on summer days. To have those days back, Lauren only wished.
Things were different now. She wasn't close to much of her family since being in boarding school. They always promised to visit her, but never did. Lauren thought for sure that Ethan and Sheridan would come to see her at school, but they never did. This really hurt her. Lauren got older, as did everyone else, and they grew apart. Sad, Lauren thought, very sad. "Here you go," shouted the driver as he pulled up in front of the mansion.
Lauren paid the driver and gathered her bags. She took a deep breath and looked at the enormous house. "Well, here I go," she said to herself.
Lauren walked up to the house and opened the front door. She walked inside and looked at he place. It looked exactly as she remembered. Nothing had changed. "Hello?' she called. No one answered. Her heart sank. Everyone knew she was coming home today, and no one is even there to greet her.
Lauren made her way upstairs to her room and opened the door. Now she felt as if she were home. She threw her stuff down and lay on her bed. Everything was just how she left it so many years ago. Dolls everywhere and pretty posters.
"Lauren!" a familiar voice shouted. "Pilar!" Lauren gasped surprisingly and jumped up to hug Pilar.
"You are so grown up now" "You have become quite a woman," said Pilar.
"It's so good to see you too, Pilar. Where are my parents?" questioned Lauren
"They are at a business dinner. Should be home later," said Pilar
Pilar could see the pain in Lauren's eyes.
"They should be home soon, honey. They are very excited to see you." "I have to get back to work but it was nice seeing you again," said Pilar. She gave Lauren another hug and left to get back to work.
"I've been away for years and my parents don't even care if I come home or not, perfect family, huh" Lauren said to herself trying to fight back tears. "Home, sweet, home."
Since no one was home, Lauren decided to take a walk through Harmony. It had been years since she had done that. It was a chilly night so Lauren decided to stop for some coffee at a place called the Book Café. It must have been new because she didn't remember this place from the last time she was in Harmony.
Lauren walked into the café and said "One hot chocolate, please." She grabbed her warm drink and went over and sat down on the couch in the café. She noticed a group of teens about her age having a good time on the next couch. The must have noticed her watching them because before she knew it, one of the girl's came over and said "would you like to join us" Lauren was surprised but jumped at the invitation.
She walked over to the group of teens. "My name is Theresa," said the girl who invited her over "and this is Whitney, my brother, Miguel, Simone,Noah, Kay and Charity." "Hi, I'm Lauren," she replied shyly.
Lauren took a seat on the couch next to Whitney with a smile on her face. She was happy to be included.
"Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around here before," asked Theresa.
"Sort of," replied Lauren. "I was born here and my parents live here but I have been away at school for years."
"I was away at school too but I just transferred to Boston College and now I commute," piped in Noah. "Oh no, shouted Theresa, I've got to get home before Luis does, I've gotta go" "We better go too, Charity," said Kay.
"It was nice meeting you," said Theresa, "I hope to see you around town." She said with a smile.
Everyone got up and left except Noah. "I don't have to be home so soon. I can stay here and hang out with you while you finish you drink" he said.
"Thanks," replied Lauren "That is nice of you."
"So tell me a little about yourself," he said with a smile.
"Well, I was born in harmony but I have been in boarding school since before I can even remember. I hate it but I really don't have a choice." Said Lauren.
She looked straight into his eyes. She noticed they were a beautiful color of blue. This made her smile. She never really had any boyfriends in school but took quite a like about Noah.
"What about you?", Lauren inquired. "Let's see, I told you I'm in college and I want to be a lawyer. IN my family there's a long line of police chiefs. My dad's the chief right here in Harmony, but I'm gonna break that streak. I'm gonna be Noah Bennet, Esqire." He said with a proud smile.
He stared into her deep green eyes, almost lost for a moment. "I better get home," said Lauren. "It was nice meeting you", she said. They shook hanks and Lauren got up to put her coat on. "Wait" said Noah. Lauren looked at him with anticipation. "Can I call you sometime and maybe.. Um well, we can hang out or something?" he asked. "Sure," she replied with a huge smile.
Lauren quickly scribbled down her number on a napkins and handed it to Noah. "Thanks," he said. He shook her had and they both looked at each other deep in the eyes. It seemed as if no one else was in the room. "Bye," said Lauren with a huge smile.
Lauren stepped out of the Book Café. "Maybe coming back to Harmony wasn't such a bad idea after all," she thought to herself with a smile.

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