Chapter 19 "Legends"

Kari is outside playing with the other kids. She runs around, playing tag, like all other 8 year olds during the summer-time.

She looks over to her the end of her drive-way, to see a strange woman standing there, watching her and her best friends Jenna, Adrian, Marisa, Travis, Mia, and her twin sister Hollie play tag.

She gets curious, so she walks over to the strange woman.

"Who are you?" She asks.

"No one." the woman says.

"Then why are you here?" The naive little girl asked her.

"No reason." The woman kneeled down. "One day, you are going to be VERY special."

"Come on, Kari!" Jenna yelled, causing Kari to turn around for a second. "Come play tag!"

"Okay, just a..." Kari turned around to look at the woman, and she was gone.

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Kari woke up from her dream, startled and scared. It all seemed so real, and she realized it was a memory that she had long since forgotten.

Kari looked around the dark room, wondering what that dream was about. Maybe it could have been the stress, bringing up forgotten memories, or it could have been something more...

Either way, she knew that she had to go talk to Jenna's mom about the story she heard yesterday.

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"OHMYGOD, KARI!?"

Marisa woke with a scream, which consequently, woke Jamie up beside her.

"What!? What's wrong!?" Jamie got scared, and Marisa and Jamie both got out of bed.

"Nothing, but..." Marisa looked anxious and rushed.

"But? But what?" Jamie looked scared, thinking that Marisa had a terrible nightmare and was scarred for life or something.

"I have to talk to Kari..." Marisa rushed out of the room.

"Wait, now!?" Jamie chased after her, and into Kari's room, where she was already awake.

"Kari, we need to talk." Marisa said angrily.
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"Wait, what?" Kari was genuinely confused. "You think... That I caused your wreck?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe..." Marisa said. "All I know is you were the last thing I saw before I swerved, actually the reason I swerved."

"You were talking to Travis on the phone, I was with him when you asked, you can ask him... Wait..." Kari thought a little bit. "Maybe this might have something to do with my dream..."

"What dream?" Marisa asked, even more curious now.

"I'll tell you when Mrs. Rose comes over." Kari said as she dialed a number into her phone.

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"Hey, Mrs. Rose, come in" Kari let Jenna's mom, Lisa Rose, into her room.

"It sounded urgent, what's going on?" Lisa said, walking into the room silently.

"I had a dream..." Kari continued to tell her about her dream, and told her that she thinks it might be connected to the story Lisa told her. "So, can you finish the story..?"

"You have heard it before, haven't you? It's a legend famous in America, and I know your parents told you about it when you were a child..." Lisa looked at Kari, then just continued the story. "Well, you heard the part about the charm, yadda yadda yadda, here are the parts I cut out as to not scare baby Liza: That some speculate that the legend is real, and that she is still looking for the charm, but that the charm might actually be a person, and that the cursed woman needs to cast a spell, which she has yet to learn, then kill the person to gain her mortality, while the charm gains the cursed woman's immortality. But while the spell is cast, the charm gains immense power, so that they can protect themselves from the woman that is trying to take the mortality. But there is also a tomb in Starlight Shores, a very dangerous obstacle, that leads to a room that tunes out all magic, and that the woman will take the charm there, and cast the spell and kill the charm, while the charm has no way to defend itself..."

Kari stood there, scared by the story, but still not knowing why. Kari let Lisa out of her house, and discussed the travel plans with the rest of the house afterwards, as to not wake up Liza.

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"So, we're really going to go to Bridgeport?" Jenna asked.

"Of course, I mean, do we really have a choice?" Kari looked at Jenna "I mean, they said Hollie, what else do we do?"

"Well, maybe it was a coincidence..." Jenna replied.

"Nothing is ever a coincidence, Jenna." Kari said, when she was interrupted by Marisa's phone ringing. Marisa walked downstairs into the bar and game room, and Jamie followed her.

"No, now don't call back!" Jamie heard Marisa yell.

"Who was that?" he asked.

"Um, my college..." Marisa said nervously. "They're asking when I am going to come back, and I told them I am going to drop out."

"It's okay, Risa" Jamie saw her eyes tearing up. "We've all had to make sacrifices in this situation. Kari, Travis, Jenna, and Adrian all have told me that they had to drop out of college when these problems arose."

"I know..." Marisa said, "It's just... I really liked college, and..."

Jamie hugged her and comforted her. "I know, it's okay, Risa... You'll be able to go back, once we get everything sorted out."

"I know..." Marisa started to cry. "I love you, Jamie..."

"I love you too, Risa."

Chapter 18 "Congratulations!"

"When was the last time you saw him?" The police officer asked Kari, after asking everyone else in the house, and causing her mother to cry.

"Um, earlier today. It was my birthday party, we had pizza and cake, and he was laughing and was happy..." Kari started to cry, she loved her brother and didn't want to see him hurt.

"So, he wouldn't have just run away?" the police woman said.

"No, he wouldn't have just RUN AWAY!!" Kari yelled. "God, are you STUPID!"

"Ma'am, that comment could get you thrown in jail." The police officer argued.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am..." Kari was worried about Kam, he must be scared. "He's only 14, he's missing, and you aren't being that helpful!"

"We're doing everything we can!" The police woman, Krystal Spencers, argued with her.

"No, you aren't!" Kari yelled at her.

"Alright, I think I'm done here." Krystal got in her car and drove off.

Kari sat down on the ground and cried. "I'll rescue you, Kam..."

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Jenna drove her and her friend's parents to their house that Jenna bought for them.

"Well, guys..." Jenna said outside the house. "This is where you will stay."

"Oh, Jenna..." Jenna's mom, Lisa, said. "It's so fancy and expensive... We can't stay here."

"No, mom, it'll be fine." Jenna said. "Just go and unpack, I'll check on you tomorrow."

Kari's mom, Lila, came up to Jenna before she left.

"Hey, Mrs. Summer." Jenna said, trying her best to sound happy. "How are you?"

"Stop with the chit-chat, Jenna." Lila said. "I want you to make sure my baby boy comes back safe..." Lila started to cry.

"Of course I will, Mrs. Summer." Jenna got in her car and drove off.

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Kari walked up to her room that night, sat in her bed, and cried for hours.

And suddenly, her phone rang.

"H-Hello?" Kari answered.

"Congratulations! Your nice friend Hollie won a trip to Bridgeport City, but decided to pass it along to you! Congratulations! Will you accept the invitation? You can take as many friends as you would like!"

Kari was shocked. "Y-Yes..."

Chapter 17 "A Birthday Blaze"

"Happy Birthday!"

"Oh... Guys!" Kari smiled, and genuinely was surprised.

"Here, we got cake!" Jenna said excitedly. "Strawbanana." she winked.

"Really!" Strawberry cake with Banana Icing, Kari's favorite cake. "W-Where is it?"

Jenna looked around, confused. "I dunno... Look out into the entrance-way."

"That's a wierd place to put a cake, Jenna." Kari looked at her, suspiciously.

"Oh, just do it!!" Jenna urged her.

Then Kari opened to door to the stairway and front door.

"Oh... Oh my GOD!" Kari screamed when she saw the people standing there. "Mom! Kam!"

"Hey, sweetie." Kari's mom smiled.

"You're back from your trip!?" Kari was so excited; Jenna sent all of their family, Jenna's mom and dad, Kari's brother Kam and her mom, and Travis' dad, on a year-and-a-half long cruise, with no way off the boat, so they haven't seen them in a year.

Unfortunately, Adrian's parents died in a car crash when he was 11, and Kari's dad and Travis' mom were also in the car. Adrian then moved in with hid grandparents, and when they died at 16, he got emancipated and moved in on his own.

Since before Hollie died. Of course, they got the news, and they were videochatting at the Funeral, but it still wasn't the same.

"Kam..!" Kari ran over to her teenage brother. "You've gotten so BIG!"

"Kari! I'm 14!" Kam looked away, embarrassed, and blushed.

Kari hugged Kam. "But still!"

"Sigh, hello, Kari." Kam reluctantly said.

Kari looked over to Jenna's mom and dad, and Travis' dad. "Hey!" She went and shook their hands, and unfortunatly, they said they were 'sorry for her loss'.

"How did you guys get off early?" Kari asked eagerly.

"We stopped at the Carribeans and got on a plane early." Kam said.

"Uhm, sorry to be so eager, but..." Jenna's mom said. "Where's my granddaughter?"

"C'mon, mom." Jenna took her mom and dad towards the stairs. "She's in the nursery."
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Later that night, Kari walked in to Liza's nursery, where Jenna's mom, Lisa Kruse, the inspiration of her granddaughters name, was telling her a bedtime story.

Oddly, it intrigued Kari.

"Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a girl. She was a pretty girl, able to choose any suitor she wanted, and quite wealthy, too. On her 19th birthday, she got a visit from a couple odd people, who claimed to be witches. They wanted to try casting a spell, to see if it would work, so she let them. They cast a spell, and it worked... The girl would stay the same forever. She would never age, never get hurt, but she would get tired and hungry. She didn't like this spell, so she went back to the witches, and asked for them to cure her, but they made a deal. They created a charm, and hid it. They told her that if she could find the charm, she could cure this spell. She searched and searched, but she couldn't find it. Legend has it, that hundreds of years later, to this very day, she still searches for this charm and a way to cure her curse..."

Kari was troubled by this story, but she did not know why. It's like her mind was saying, "It's just a story", but her soul was saying, "It's all true"...

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"Kari!? Kari!?" Kari's mom, Lila, yelled.

"What, mom, what!" Kari ran downstairs.

"It's Kam." Lila said. "He's missing."

Chapter 16 "A Restless Nightmare"

10 months later

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Jenna woke up to hear crying on the baby monitor. She ran through the house, a beautiful 5-bedroom modern condo that their friend Jamie Nelson owned and invited them to live in.

On the way down the stairs and into the nursery, Jenna woke up the white puppy they adopted and named Lilly Pup. Luckily, the dog is quiet and lazy, so she didn't make any noise and nobody woke up.

Well, no one except Adrian.

Liza, Jenna and Adrian's daughter, stopped crying as soon as Jenna walked in.

"Looks like she just wanted your attention." Adrian smirked

"How did we make something so... Beautiful?" Jenna stared at her daughter, and looked at her in amazement. Even with her boyish preferences-apparent even as a baby-Jenna could see that they shared a great deal of genetics. They each had blonde hair and light blue eyes, and pale skin.

"Easy," Adrian hugged Jenna from behind. "You're her mother."

Jenna smiled and turned her head away. After all this time, he still treats her like a queen. "Adrian, I love you so much."

"I love you too."

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Jamie woke up to see Marisa standing next to the bed, staring at the wall.

"Risa," he said. "You okay?"

She just stared at the wall.

"The nightmares are back, aren't they?" Jamie walked over to her. "It'll be okay, Risa. We will get through it again. We always will, and always do."

"I'm so scared, Jamie..." Marisa started to cry, and just hugged Jamie tight.

"It's okay, Risa." Jamie kissed her forehead. "It's okay to be scared."

"I don't remember anything from that night..." Marisa started staggering her crying, making it even worse for Jamie. He didn't like seeing Marisa scared and sad.

"C'mon" Jamie led Marisa to the couch in the living room right outside their room.

They just sat there and watched T.V.. Jamie and Marisa often did that in the middle of the night when Marisa couldn't sleep. It helped them forget about the crash, and the 3 months when Marisa was in a coma, her fate unknown to Jamie...

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"Kari?" Travis walked outside in his sleepwear, to find Kari, also in her sleepwear, sitting on a lounge chair.

"Oh, hey Travis." Kari smiled. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would come out here and watch the sun rise."

"I couldn't sleep, either." Travis walked up to Kari, extremely nervous. "Kari, I..."

"Yeah..?" Kari got up out of her seat, confused. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no!" Travis rushed to say. "Look, Kari, you know I love you..."

"Oh... Oh my god..." Kari came to the worst conclusion of the situation: He was breaking up with her. "Are you...?"

Travis got down on one knee, and Kari suddenly went from crying, to shocked, to smiling. "Kari Summer, will you marry me?"

"Yes! Yes..." Kari hugged Travis and put on the ring. "Yes, I will, Travis Cross..."

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Jenna and Kari woke up at the same time that night, and went into the living room. They both complained of hearing a knock on wood in that area, and saw a note on the Coffee Table.

"The stakes are higher than ever now."

Chapter 15 "Crash. Bam. Boom."

The phone rang. Marisa looked at the caller ID.

 Jamie Nelson.

Marisa smiled. It has been a week since the night he kissed her, and they have been together every day since.

"Hello." Marisa smiled when she answered the phone.

"Hey" Jamie said on the other end. "Can you come to the park?"

"Sure!" Marisa smiled. She got into her white truck. "I will be there in about 15 minutes!"

"Great." Jamie said. "See you there." He hung up.

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"Adrian?" Jenna walked over to him.

"Hey, Jenna!" Adrian smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." Jenna smiled. She knew she had to tell him sooner or later. She chose sooner. "Hey, Adrian, I have to tell you something..."

"Yeah?" Adrian looked so happy. She hoped he would be happy about this, too.

"Adrian, I'm..." She pulled out the pregnancy test and handed it to Adrian.

"You're... Pregnant?" Adrian looked shocked.

"Y...Yes..." Jenna looked at Adrian. He looked stunned.

Then he broke into a huge, geeky smile. "That's great!" He hugged her. "I... I wanted to tell you that I wanted to try for a child... But I got scared..."

Jenna was so happy. Adrian was happy. Everything was happy.

"Great!" Jenna smiled.

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"Hey, Kari!" Travis smiled and walked into her room, where she was reading a book.

"Travis!" Kari smiled. She saw him all the time, but she always was happy when he came and talked to her. It was 10 o'clock in the morning, and they were both in their nightclothes. Travis stood in the doorway. "What are you reading?"

"Ah, nothing." She got up to put the book away, but a note fell out. She read it. "T-Travis... Where is Marisa?!"

"What?" He came to look at the note.

Marisa.

"She went to visit Jamie in the park." The color drained from Travis' face.

"Do you think..?" Kari said.

"No, I don't..." Travis was scared. "He's too nice..."

"Call her, now." Kari said.

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"Hey, Jamie!" Marisa said. She could see the pure joy on his face of seeing her. It is something she loves about him.

"Marisa!" He yelled excitedly. "Come! Sit! Sit!" He wasn't more or less excited that usual. He was, however, showing it more.

"Jamie, what's up?" Marisa laughed.

"Nothing." Jamie said. "I am just really, really excited!"

"Aha, Why?" Marisa said.

"I get to see you." Jamie said simply.

"And... Well, there is something I want to ask you...." Jamie said nervously.

"Yeah?" Marisa looked at him curiously.

"Well, my house is finished building, and there is plenty of space, and I was wondering..." Jamie looked more and more nervous.

"Jamie, I would love to, but my friends..." Marisa knew what he was asking: If she would like to move in.

"There is plenty of room!" Jamie tried his best to convince her. "They can come too!"

"Oh, okay..!" Marisa was happy to move in with Jamie. "I'll ask them!"

"Alright!" Jamie smiled. 

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Marisa said goodbye and walked to her truck, when suddenly she got a call from Travis.

"Hey!" Marisa said excitedly.

"Where are you?" Travis said immediately.

"I'm on my way to the mansion, why?" Marisa was worried.

"We got a note..." Travis was worried, also.

"What did it say?" Marisa asked, she was almost at the mansion.

"Just your name, where are you now?" Travis asked.

"Pulling up to the mansion now." Marisa said. "OHMYGOD, KARI!?"

Travis heard a loud swerve and a crash. "Marisa, Marisa!?"

Chapter 14 "A Kiss In The Night"

"Im sorry, Ma'am, but there really is nothing I can do." The policewoman said.


"Why not!?" Marisa was angered.

"Because, we cannot prove this was arson..." She said. "But this IS the second time we have been called here, and your group of friends is often involved in an emergency call... Is there something you are not telling us?"


Marisa thought. She hadn't been involved as long as the others had, but she is just as involved as the others. She decided she couldnt tell her. "No-no... We're telling yo--"


"Marisa!!!" Jamie came running up to her. "Marisa!? Are you okay? I saw the fire, and the police, and I got worried, and..."

"I'm fine, Jamie." Marisa smiled. It was nice to know he cared so much.


"Good. If I lost you, I would feel so terrible..." Jamie's face looked saddened. "I know we haven't known each other long, but--"


Marisa kissed him suddenly. She felt warmth and a shock, and it was amazing. "I feel the same." She smiles.

The police continued to ask the others questions, who woke up and got dressed immediatly after Marisa did. The police gathered the piano and helped clean up the after-effect of the fire.

"Hey" Travis came up to Marisa after Jamie left. "Who was that?"

"The reason I'm staying." Marisa smiled at the retreating taxi.

"I'm glad you're happy, Ris." Travis used the nickname from when they were dating in High School.

Marisa looked at Kari, who was taking a late night dip in the pool with Jenna. "I'm glad you are happy, too. She is perfect for you. Always has been. I noticed it way back when we were together, too."

And with that, Marisa walked up to her bedroom to get some sleep.



Chapter 13 "Blinding Love"

The next morning, Marisa decided to go to the park to think about things. Travis and his friends told her about the things that were happening to them. The murders, the notes, all of it, was making her really stressed.


"Hello." A read-headed man with thick, electronic glasses and white eyes sat down beside her. "I hope you dont mind if I sit here. My name is Jamie."


"No, you're fine." Marisa smiled. She was watching the Simfest going on in the park from afar. There always seems to be something going on in Starlight Shores.


"I just moved here from Moonlight Falls." Jamie says. "I don't really know anyone yet."


Marisa smiles. "I like your glasses." She tried to strike up convorsation.

"Oh, yeah." Jamie looks a little flustered. "I-I was born blind. The doctors made me these glasses so I could see. My parents are quite rich, so I was lucky, I guess."


Marisa felt bad for him, she realizes some of the basic things in life is stuff she takes for granted. "Wow. Yeah, that is lucky."


They talk for hours. Marisa forgets about what she had learned the night before. Around 5 o'clock P.M., a good 7 hours have passed, Marisa decides she needs to go back to the house.


"Hey, do you want to come over for a little while?" Marisa asks Jamie.


"Yeah, sure." Jamie smiles a genuine smile. The kind of smile that makes Marisa smile. Or maybe it's just because it was Jamie that was smiling.

They drive to the mansion, and Jamie and Marisa walk inside. No one else is around, and Jamie and Marisa make their way to the pool area.

"Hey, nice piano." Jamie notices the big, white, classical piano on the deck.

"Yeah, my friends live here, I am just staying for a while..." maybe. Marisa looks at Jamie, and she feels like she found a reason to stay.

Marisa sits down on the piano seat, and looks at the piece of music.

Everytime we touch
Cascada
Slow

Marisa starts to play the piece of music, and Jamie comes up behind her, and starts to sing the song.

"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me." Jamie sings.

"I still feel your touch in my dreams." Marisa sings

"Forgive me my weakness but I don't know why." They both sing together.

"Without you it's hard to survive." They sing

"Cause everytime we touch I get this feeling." Jamie sings by himself.

"And everytime we kiss I swear I can fly" Marisa sings by herself.

"Can't you feel my heart beat fast." Jamie sings

"I want this to last." Marisa sings.

"I need you by my side."  They sing together.

Marisa stops playing. "Wow, Jamie..."

"You were good." Jamie compliments her.

"You too" Marisa smiles.

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In the middle of the night, Marisa wakes up to the smell and sound of something burning. She looks out the hallway's window, and sees the piano she played with Jamie earlier that day burning. She also sees a note on the windowsill.

All love dies...