Chapter 2 Thump, thump, thump.

Ember could feel her heart beating about a hundred miles per second and she wondered if that was normal. Whaddaheck, Ember. Your heart is being shot to the sky because of a guy. Shame on you! Oh, cut me some slack. It's not like I've ever felt this way before. Ember pinched herself to stop the blabbering in her brain. Boy, if this was what a small smile from him caused, she had better stay far, far away from him. Once the bell rang, she had wanted to dash right out of class but unfortunately, her escape was hindered when she knocked her books over. She groaned inwardly and bent over to gather up her books. Just as she was about to stand, a hand popped into view. She froze and stared at it. She didn't do anything, she just stared at that hand like it was a snake. If anyone ever asked her about that moment, she would deny it ever happened. "Um, hello there. I'm Jaden," a voice said. And she still stared. Then that hand waved in front of her face and she finally snapped out of it. She jerked up straight which sadly caused her books to fall. Again. She could feel the heat blazing in her cheeks as she picked them up. She was about to reach for the last one when he caught her to it. "Here, I'm sorry I startled you." He handed her back the book. She looked at him warily and took the book. "Thank you." She stood up carefully this time and realised that she had to tilt her head up slightly to get a good look at his face. She was tall and most guys were shorter than her which made her seem a little bit more intimidating. Which also made dating difficult. It was nice to know there were at least some guys who still fit the bill. "My pleasure." He smiled that smile again and she felt her heart soar. She cleared her throat. "I'm Ember. I'm sorry that I can't shake your hand as you can see, they're a little occupied." His smile got a little wider and her heart stared beating faster. Cool it, Em.

"It's okay. I'm sorry for the confusion about the seat thing though. I honestly didn't know it was yours." "It's cool." She shrugged as casually as possible when she felt anything but. Stupid heart. "Listen, I'm really sorry, but I can't show you around campus right now. I have a bunch of errands to take care of which are really important." She tried to look sorry when she was really just itching to get out of there. "Hey, no sweat. I can always get someone else to show me around. How big can a school be, right?" She looked at him as if he was some alien from Mars. "Did you by any chance check out this school before you enrolled in here?" she asked. "No. I just thought that it had a good music course and they accepted me immediately," he said with the most adorable confused look on his face. She let out a breathless laugh because she was honestly pretty shocked he didn't do his research before entering here. This place was a labyrinth if you didn't know your way around. "You know what, even the people around here couldn't show you the whole place in a day. Heck, I don't think they even know some of the places exist. So, here." She handed him the map she'd drawn a while back when she decided to go exploring around the school. She realised she had a lot of time when one didn't have friends to hang out with. "Wow, you drew this?" "Yes. So now you wouldn't get lost if you don't have people around you." -Although, I doubt it and I so don't want to be around you when that doesn't happen- "You can keep that copy. I have another." "Seriously?" "Sure. Consider it a welcome gift from yours truly." He laughed and she was entranced by the rich, husky sound of it. Honestly, what was it about him that made her insides jump up and down? She was usually the epitome of cool, calm and collected. "Thank you! I'm going to keep this with me all the time. Wow, there really are a lot of places here." His eyes were wide saucers when he looked at the map. "Yeah, well. Nice meeting you. Have a nice day," she said as calm as possible, almost robotic like. Then she scrammed right out of there in a snap.

Only when her locker was in sight did she start to slow down her pace. Ember leaned her head against the cool metal and took in a deep breath. It was not a good sign if her composure was slipping. If she couldn't control her emotions when she wasn't dancing, it spelled big trouble for her. She let out a sigh and stuffed her bags into her locker before heading over to the next class. "Hey, Ember," Tricia greeted as Ember took her usual spot next to her. "Hello, Tricia," Ember replied. Tricia was a sweet, shy girl. Ember usually sat next to her because unlike the other rich girls in this school, Tricia always was nice to people regardless of the money in their pockets. Ember never knew why they never hung out though. "Did you notice that new guy that just arrived today? I heard he used to study in Germany," Tricia announced in a high-pitched voice. She usually got like that when she was really excited about something. "Well, I don't know about that but yes, I met Jaden earlier this morning actually," Ember said indifferently. Even the mention of his name sped up her pulse a little. "Oh my! You know his name. Well, how was he? Does he look as yummy as they say he does? Was he cute or hot?" Tricia bombarded her with a multitude of questions and luckily, before Ember could answer any of them, the teacher entered the class and everyone scuttled back to their seats. Ember honestly didn't want to let anyone know her opinion of Jaden. For all she knew, she might accidentally slip a little something about how she felt around him and school would become the death of her. A moment later when the class was dark and a video was playing on the projector overhead, a small folded up paper landed on her desk. Ember glanced over to Tricia who gestured her to read it with a little wave of her fingers. As quietly as possible in the hushed room, Ember opened up the paper. I want to know EVERYTHING about him. ^.^ Ember groaned.

******** After somehow evading Tricia's questions, Ember managed to make through school without bumping into Jaden again. She breathed a sigh of relief and hoped that she would get over this phase soon. She couldn't run away from him forever and she was bound to see him sooner or later.

Well, it's only for a year. And then you'd never see him again. It puzzled her when her chest constricted at the thought of never seeing him again. And she had only just met the guy. She shook off that feeling and made her way down the street. She neared a kindergarten and little kids were running out of the gate, into the waiting arms of their parents. Ember's heart panged at the sight of a mother hugging a child and lifting him into her arms. She missed her little brother. Which reminded her, she should let Max know that he could come visit for summer holidays soon. Her adorable brother who had only turned eleven last month had to stay back in her old hometown with Aunt Judie since Ember had to move to Port Trey where her school was. She wished she could bring her brother here to live with her, but she couldn't handle the costs that came with it. Even with her tiny apartment and menial expenses, she barely had enough to save for a rainy day. She prayed he would turn out alright in the loving arms of Aunt Judie. Eventhough she wasn't related to them, Aunt Judie was more than happy to bring in two orphaned kids into her warm home. Aunt Judie was kind, and though she was single and knew nothing about being a mother, she pulled through. Now she took care of Max over in Sommerville, her old hometown. Ember reached a building among the shops that was painted black. The tinted windows didn't allow curious passer-by's to look inside and instead, reflected their images. Above the mahogany doors, a sign which read 'The Pulse' glittered in the bright sunlight. Ember walked around the corner to the alley beside the building. When she came upon a red door, she stopped and entered a combination into the security pad beside it. Once she heard the beep, she entered and walked into a wall of solid flesh. "Oof!" Her arms flailed and just when she thought she was about to land smack on her butt, two huge hands gripped onto her upper arms and kept her upright. She looked up, and up, and up until she found the grinning face of one Xyler Brady. "Hey there, squirt." "I don't understand why I'm the only one you call squirt when I'm not exactly the shortest one around. Heck, I add on 4 inches when I wear heels!" she huffed. He laughed. Xyler had what Ember would call a giant's laugh. And it's not just because of his size alone. His booming laugh could be heard from three blocks away and if you weren't careful, you could just end up with a split eardrum. It was a good thing he didn't laugh much. Not so good for the big, bad bouncer image.

"That, squirt, is a trade secret." He winked at her and released her gently then proceeded to announce to whoever that 'little angel' had arrived. She was just about smack him when he swiveled around her to exit through the way she came in, laughing all the way. How a big guy like that could move so fast never failed to make her head spin. She shrugged it off good-naturedly and headed down the hallway towards the dressing room. As she walked down the hallway, she passed the many posters of a hip-hop fusion dance group named Rush. She worked at The Pulse as one of the members of Rush, and at seventeen, she was one of their youngest members. Of course, her age was a trade secret among the customers or someone would sue up the nose to the owners who were very nice people. Mr. and Mrs. James had gracefully given her the job when they saw her potential in her talent for dance a year ago. Some might think it would be scary to be working at a club so young with only adults to face, but truth of the fact was that it was extremely fun working there. Employees at The Pulse were family and young or old, they were treated like it. The guys who worked here were the big brothers while the ladies were big sisters. Both sides treated her like the precious little sister and were tons of fun. Ember knew if she had any problems, she could always turn to them and they would shower her with care and all the help she needed. With that in mind, she entered the dressing room just as a flying pink boa smacked her in the face. She removed the feathered item and was greeted with an impossible situation. "Get out of here! I hate you!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hello there! So you guys finally found out more about Ember! More about her will be coming out next. Next up, a little surprise from Jaden! *gasp* What will he do next? ;) Thank you dear readers! Please continue to check for the next chapter and let your friends now too! Comments are well appreciated! With love, cherylxo.