((So I’m finally here in New York. It’s funny, I know I should be excited or nervous, or something quasi-normal, but mostly, I’m just homesick... I miss the beach and the California sun ... the sun is different here somehow. But it’s not like I can’t take care of myself. I’ve been doing that my whole life...))

Anya shook herself out of her thoughts, and pulled her sunglasses onto her head, holding her flowing mahogany hair out of her matching eyes. She stood up and sauntered over to the nearest person with a watch.

“Pardon me, what time is it?” The guy, who seemed to be about her age, gave Anya a serious once-over before replying, “ 3:15... anything else I can, heh, help you with?”

“Excuse me?” Shocked, Anya took a step back. The little jerk, she thought.

“Feisty, aren’t we?” The boy turned around and faced away from Anya. Why the hell did I just say that? You’re an idiot. Just play it out.

Anya stalked over to him and, grabbing his shoulder, whirled him around to face her. “You are a very rude person.” And a very hot person.

“Well, you’re not what I expected either sweetie pie.” He shrugged off her hand and walked away to a chair and plopped himself down.

Anya followed, sizzling with anger. People do not get away with degrading Anya DeLaCruces, never. “People aren’t often what you expect them to be. But you, whoever you are, I think, are an exception.” Beat that, she challenged silently, letting the fire in her eyes build.

Silence ensued, filling the room, blocking out the busy sounds of a bustling airport. Anya had planted her feet on the floor, refusing to move until she got some sort of answer out him.

Slowly, as if it was painful to even utter them, the boy mumbled “I’m sorry...” Hanging his head, he fell silent once again, figuring the less words, the more meaning. And he meant it.

Half way satisfied, Anya stated matter-of-factly “You should learn some manners.”

Out of habit when he’s embarrassed, he rubbed his forehead slowly and rhythmically. “I know... it’s just I get a little carried away and-”

“My friend is here. I’m sorry, I’ve gotta go...” Anya picked up her bags and continued, “Look, just give girls some respect, ok? I mean... you know... I gotta go.” She rushed off in the direction of a small red head and her mom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Setting: The outside of the airport.

“AAAAAAANNNNNNNNE! You’re here! You’re actually here! I can’t believe it!”

Anya ran straight into her best friend Chris’s arms, hugging her tight. “I missed you sooo much.”

“You’ll absolutely love Crawford. It’s tiny and really fun and ....”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

((With all the excitement of seeing Chris again, the boy in the airport became a distant memory. But the way he treated me brought back some painful memories... My foster mom divorced my foster dad when I was ten. He had physically abused her... and verbally me. To rid herself of the pain, she would drink... a lot. She’s in rehab now... and I’m being shipped off to my best friend’s house for 3 months... but I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot longer.))

The Everett’s car flew along the long stretch of open highway, leading farther and farther from civilization, concrete buildings, subways, cell phones, and the world that Anya had come to know, love, and doubt she could live without. This will be a very interesting experience, she thought.

Almost two hours later, Jackie, Chris’s mother, eased her sedan into the driveway of a stately Victorian-esque house settled on the outskirts of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town. “This is where you live?” Anya almost whispered with clear lines of disbelief traced across her face.

As usual, her downcast tone didn’t faze Chris, who bopped and bounced out of the car and into the doorway, humming a tune that certainly didn’t echo Anya’s feelings right at this moment.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Setting: Chris’s room, getting ready to go out

“So, like, what is this party for anyway?”

“To celebrate the beginning of summer, we do it every year!”

“With all five teenagers in Crawford...” Anya muttered under her breath. Knowing it wasn’t going to do any good to mope, she pulled herself together and forced her mind onto a different topic. “Let’s get this funfest started.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Setting: An abandone warehouse transformed into party central. There is a dj in one corner and drinks and food in another.

“Why is everyone looking at me?” Anya looked around boredly and smoothed her immacualte leather pants and red tank top.

“They never seen anyone from west of the Mississippi, this is groundbreaking for them.”

“You’re kidding?” Disbelief and disgust surged into Anya.

“Nope... Uh-oh, I see your wheels turning. You’re gonna do something. You really are.” Anya just smiled. “ Just don’t scare them, please? I want to be able to walk the streets of this town tommorrow, okay?” Chris pleaded.

“Don’t worry...” Anya flashed a smile, then strode off to the center of the dance floor, keeping time with the music.

“How can I not?” Chris shook her head like a mother would do after her child pulled a foolish prank.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Anya scanned the room for any potential subjects, then sighed unsatisfied. She glanced back at at Chris and her eyes caught on... him. The boy from the airport. He was sitting on a stack of tables, brooding. Almost instantly, his eyes met hers and the world seemed to go into slow motion. Dear God, I hope he doesn’t walk over here. The boy got up and walked purposefully over to Anya, standing in front of her, blocking any escape. Damn.

Anya pulled herself up into a why-do-you-even-think-you-deserve-to-be-eye-level-with-me stance and let her eyes set hard as iron, boring back into his just as purposefully as his. “If you came her to try to get-”

“No, I didn’t even know you were here. I live her in Crawford. I just saw you.”

Anya raised her eyebrows and folded her arms, challenging him on the outside, buit on the inside she really wanted to tell him it’s okay. “Look, can we just forget about the airport and..” He gazed imploringly at her with a look that contained the power to completely unglue her.

You are so far gone, girl. “...Dance?” She finished for him. A look of pure relief covered his face and he pulled Anya toward him, reluctantly placing his hands on her waist. “I don’t bite, you know.” He laughed and pulled her a little closer.

Anya finally gathered the stamina, and, slowly, she let her eyes meet his. They were amazing, a whirlpool of color and emotion and something... more. Green mixed with blue, blue with gray, gray with green, green with brown. All tinted with a shadow of silver. Captivated, Anya felt all her body parts shut down slowly, till she was running on auto pilot, letting his eyes fill up her entire world.

Then it came. The single strand, fleeting, only for an instant seemed to exist, of memory. Those eyes. She had seen them before. No, experienced them before. Where, she explored her mind but the memory was gone. It had been there, though. She was sure of it. Digging deeper, to the depths of her mind which were fuzzed over with a web of time and age. It took actual physical exertion to attempt at pulling back those webs and Anya nearly gave up when it happened.

The flashes rushed at her. Pounding her in a gentle yet insistent manner. The two of them- her and Kevin, that was his name, she now knew- huddled together in a cave.

Kevin waving his hand and making a hole for them to crawl out of the cave. Anya crying as Kevin is carried away screaming her name And hundreds more, lmost to fast to register. All while they were five years old.

What just happened? Anya felt a frantic terror building up deep inside her, threatening to spill over any second. Those memories, they came from me.. and Kevin. We share them. She didn’t know how it was posible, but it was.

Almost petrified, Anya gazed deeper into Kevin’s eyes, trying to find an answer, and explanation, anything. Neither happened except for a flood of understanding washing over his eyes. He knows me, he just didn’t recognize me. How does he know me?

Kevin whispered, so quietly she could hardly hear it. “You are... Anya.”