Hello there! Thanks for taking the time to check out my story. Treasure Planet is very dear to my heart and I am so excited to finally come back to this story after it being on hiatus for several years. For those of you who are new, welcome! I hope you enjoy. And to those of you who have been with this story from the day I posted it, thanks for sticking around. I decided to take this story in a new direction, as well as rewrite my OC and try to improve my writing style. My character has a new name as well as new traits, however, there still are a lot of elements that I am keeping with her storyline and with this story overall. It will be much better, I promise. Without further ado, I present the new and improved Treasure Planet: Written In the Stars. Enjoy!

Prologue

An Adventure of a Lifetime

It was a cold night on Pluvius. Like usual, the skies were dark with angry clouds that were releasing their fury on the planet below. Thunder crackled loudly and lightning provided a moment's reprieve from the dark skies. Rain poured by the bucketful on to the streets and managed to soak anyone caught in the storm. This was no surprise to Pluviusians; each one of them had endured the constant rain storms since they were infants. But for a wandering pirate, the rain was a chilly disturbance that tampered with his plans of sailing to a certain Pluviusian bar, where he would scout out a potential crew.

The pirate trudged through the slick streets, trying to devise a plan of action to find some way of reaching the other side of the planet in this bad of a storm. The locals he had talked to told him that this particular storm was too strong, even for the storm-proof ships designed to be able to withstand the intense rain. Nevertheless, he trekked on until he could think of something while waiting out the duration of this storm.

He passed tailors and restaurants, as well as water refineries (as Pluvius was the main source of water for the entire Etherium) and even rest stops created for travelers or locals who wished to take refuge from the rain. He walked by inns and parks and item shops. Part of him longed to look through the ancient goods in those shops, but he knew the item he was searching for couldn't be there. He knew for a fact that it was in the hands of his most hated enemy, whom he had set out to find only last month. He would scour the ends of the Etherium to find what rightfully belonged to him, and he would do whatever it took to retrieve it.

As the pirate passed a darkened alley, he heard a strange sound echoing across the walls. Ever since he was a young lad, the pirate was a curious fellow, so naturally he found himself entering the eerie alley to find the source of the sound. It grew louder the farther he walked, and eventually, he made out the sound to be sniffling. Who would sit in an alley during a rain storm this bad?, the pirate thought to himself. Surely they knew that they would catch a cold if they stayed out too long.

The sniffling grew louder and soon the pirate made out faint whimpering. He hadn't a clue as to who it was coming from, or what he would even do if he were to find the person, but he ventured on. Just as he was questioning how long the alleyway could possibly be, his eyes settled on a young human girl, not much older than seven or eight, sitting with her back against the wall and knees pulled up to her chest. She had no jacket on, and she desperately clung to her legs in an attempt to preserve her body heat. The rain pelted her slimming body and plastered her reddish-blond hair to her pale face. The pirate's shoulders slumped at the sight. He had a soft spot for young kids, although he would never admit that to anyone.

He walked until we was in front of the young girl and slowly fell to his knees. "Are ye all alone out 'ere, lass?"

Her eyes shot up from her knees and widened at the sight of the pirate man in front of her. She jumped when her eyes met with the pirate's mechanical arm and then cowered at the man. "Please don't hurt me," she said softly, raising her hands and looking away.

The cyborg-pirate slowly moved to a sitting position. "Oh, I ain't going to hurt ye, lassie." The pirate gently placed his actual hand on her knee. Her jade eyes gave a look that nearly broke the pirate's heart. "Are ye lost?"

"Yes," the young girl replied.

"Can I 'elp ye find yer home?"

"I don't have a home," she said to the pirate, looking back down at her knees.

"Where's yer family at, lass?" The pirate asked, although he feared he already knew the answer.

"They left me here," she told him, a tear escaping her eye. "They left me here and never came back." She sniffled again. "They abandoned me." Her eyes now flooded over with tears that could have gone unnoticed in this storm, but the pirate's ears fixated on the tortured tone in the young lass' voice. Although he didn't know her well, the pirate couldn't help but pull the lass in to a close embrace. She didn't protest the gesture and instead wrapped her small arms around the pirate's belly. He let the poor girl cry as long as she needed to, and once she was finished, he set his entirely too big jacket on her dainty shoulders.

"'Ow long 'ave ye been alone?" he asked her.

Her posture sank as she wrapped the warm jacket around her tightly. "A month or two."

"Oh, lass," he said, feeling his heart sink. "Isn't t'ere somewhere ye could go?"

She shook her head. "I couldn't go to the orphanage. And my other relatives don't live here."

The cyborg-pirate sat there, shaking his head at the fact that the lass had already started to grow on him. "When's the last time ye ate?"

The girl shrugged. "Maybe last week? I can't remember."

The pirate's heart sank further in his chest. He decided that he couldn't let her starve. That wouldn't be considered "soft" right? "Well then, I'll just 'ave to feed ye, won't I?"

"But you're a stranger," she said, as if the hug that the two shared had never happened.

The pirate found this amusing and chuckled. "What's yer name, lass?"

"Delilah Coleen Davidson," she replied. "But you can just call me Delilah. What's your name?"

"They call me Long John Silver. But ye can just call me Silver," he smiled. "See? We're 'ardly strangers now. 'ow's about ye show me the best place t' eat 'ere?"

Delilah smiled. "Okay!"

And so little Delilah took Silver by the hand and led him down the street, turning left after right after left. Finally the duo ended up in front of a restaurant with "Pluvian Prosperity" engraved in gold above the entrance doors. Once the two were seated, Silver let the girl eat to her heart's content. The pirate ordered for himself as well, and while the two awaited the arrival of their food, they began to chat about things. Silver learned that Delilah was eight and a half years old and loved to invent things. She went on about how she built a solar surfer all by herself and was able to fly it the day after it was complete.

"Ye like to solar surf?" Silver asked the lass.

A smile spread across Delilah's face. "I love it more than anything. One day, I wanna travel the entire Etherium on one!" she exclaimed. "But, I guess you can't really ride a solar surfer in space though."

Silver smiled back at her. "Well o' course you can!"
"How?" she asked. "You would just float away, wouldn't you?"

"Not if the surfer 'ad artificial gravity infused in it."

Delilah's jade green eyes widened. "That's genius!"

Silver let out a chuckle. "Where do ye want to travel to?"

"Oh everywhere," she answered almost instantly.

"A lass after me own heart," Silver smiled and bowed is head to her playfully.

Delilah giggled. "Do you travel a lot, Silver?"

"Yes, lass. I've been a spacer for years. T'ere's nothin' better than bein' among the stars."

The young girl sighed happily as Silver shared some stories about his time in space. Their food came as Silver talked about his recent trip to the Coral Galaxy. Delilah eagerly listened while scarfing down the stew she ordered. She had moved on to the second bowl she ordered just as Silver had finished his story, causing Silver to laugh. As Silver helped himself to his own food, he began to wonder what was to come after their dinner. He surely couldn't dump the poor lass back in the alley he found her in, and he couldn't give her up to the police since they would send her straight to the orphanage without a second thought. And as much as Silver didn't want to believe it, he had become fond of the young girl and couldn't bear to leave her behind.

Without thoroughly thinking it through, Silver set his fork down and looked at the young Pluviusian. "Say, Lilah. I've been thinkin'-"

"Lilah?" she repeated, frowning as if Silver had spoken another language. "No one's ever called me Lilah before."

Silver's brows furrowed. "No one? Not even yer folks?"

"No," she replied, pondering the nickname further. "I actually like that. I like it a lot."

"I think it suits ya well," the cyborg smiled at the analytic girl. "Can I ask ye a question?"

"Sure," she nodded, reaching for a role of Kinapite bread.

"Bein' in space all by yer lonesome gets a little sad af'er sometime," he told her, "and to tell ye the truth, Lilah, I've taken a shinin' to ye. I can tell a true spacer from anyone, and me thinks t'at ye most definitely belong among the stars. But I won't force anythin' on ye; if ye wish to stay 'ere, I'll leave ye be."

"No!" Delilah said in protest. "I want to come with you, Silver. I want to be a spacer."

"Are ye ready to face the dangers and thrills?" Silver asked, making his voice intense with each word.

Delilah's eyes brightened. "More than anything."

Silver couldn't help but smile wildly. "Yer adventure starts tomorrow m'lady. And let me be the first to say, it'll be an adventure of a lifetime."

And that's the story of how Silver and I met. Now let me tell you our new story, the one that's still being written.

My name is Lilah Rae Kicklighter, and this is the story of my search for Treasure Planet.

Chapter 1

Lilah

My eyes shot open as I let go of a breath that I felt like I had been holding for hours. Those amber eyes bore through my mind, and no matter how desperately I tried, the image of them staring back at me would not fade.

I let out another shaky breath as I pushed myself into an upright position. The old motel bed creaked underneath me as if it too was bothered by my dream. Man would I kill for just one night where I didn't wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. Just one night.

It's been an entire year and those amber eyes still plagued my thoughts and my dreams. Nothing I tried helped erase them from my memory, as much as I wish they would leave. Silver does too; he's tired of me waking up every night and waking him up in the process.

I ran a hand through my messy hair before getting up and moving to the duffel bag that held all of my clothes. As quietly as I could, I began to change out of my pajamas and in to my normal clothes. Silver was an incredibly light sleeper (all pirates were, to be honest) and he would kill me if he caught me sneaking out for another "late night ride" as he called them. He was afraid I would blow our cover or something would happen to me out this late. I couldn't help it though. Whenever I couldn't sleep, which was basically every night, I would either go solar surfing for a bit or sketch a surfer and create it. Keeping busy was the one thing that distracted me from my thoughts, which was the last place I wanted to be.

Once I finished lacing up my knee-high combat boots, I slid out my favorite solar surfer from its cubby hole (Silver got me this solar surfer container that lets me hold up to one hundred at a time) and walked over to the window. I watched Silver's sleeping figure as pushed the glass plane outwards and hopped on to the fire escape. Silver didn't even budge as I pressed the window back in to place.

"That wasn't so hard," I murmured to myself and pressed a button on my board. The sail of the surfer burst open and the board extended to its full length. Goosebumps arose on my arms at the sight, as always. I hopped on and gripped the support bar tightly. I allowed myself a few moments to admire the maroon sails that complimented the black board, and then I started off in to the night sky. It took less than thirty seconds for the night sky to take my breath away. The skies were completely clear which made star gazing all that much better. I tilted my surfer higher as I stared through the midnight skies. I swear, you could see every star in the Etherium from my view right now. Clusters of cities and towns below me grew smaller the higher I soared.

My board reached altitude capacity shortly after, causing me to hover at about 30,000 feet. Once I switched my board on to autopilot, I slipped my right foot out of its safety holder and sat myself on the edge of my board.

The moment I looked up, my heart fluttered. Ever since I was a kid, I had the biggest fascination with space and the sky. Whenever I couldn't sleep or if I had nightmares, I would look at the sky. I found comfort there; no matter how much my life changed or how bad things got, the sky was always there and always stayed the same. I was instantly relaxed the moment my eyes connected with the stars. Perhaps that was the "spacer" in me as Silver always said. Even if I was only gone for a few days, my heart would ache until I was back in space. Nothing made me happier than being among the Etherium skies.

As my mind wandered aimlessly, I let out a happy sigh. I loved these moments I had to myself, even if they were short lived. The glittering stars, twinkling city lights, and dark skies made every ounce of me soothed and happy; two emotions that were hard to come by for me. I valued the opportunities I had to sit in silence and appreciate what was around me, and I valued the time I had to put my life on pause, even if it was only for a few moments.

I sighed again, this time in sadness as I realized that it was time for me to return. The last thing I wanted was for Silver to wake up and notice I was gone. He had already warned me at least five or six times about consequences if I continued to break his "rule." It wasn't like I was breaking it just to break it; late night solar surfing made me feel better. It was the only thing that took my mind off those amber eyes, and no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't explain to Silver that I still thought about those eyes even after all this time. He wouldn't understand.

In a matter of minutes, I touched down to our room's fire escape. I closed my surfer and clutched the board tightly then proceeded to press my hand against the glass and slip back inside the motel. My boots landed against the carpet with a quiet thud. I made my way to my surfer container and turned my board around so that it could recharge.

"So do ye want t' tell me where ye been?"

I jumped nearly three feet in the air and my board clattered to the floor. "Shit," I murmured and turned around. "You scared the hell out of me, Silver!"

Silver was sitting upright on his bed, arms crossed and everything. Don't ask me how I didn't notice him when I walked in. "Lilah, don't make me ask ye again," he said sternly, looking at me with both his good eye and his mechanical eye.

I let out a groan and picked up my board off the floor. "Out," I said as I slid the surfer back in to its slot. "I've been out."

"Doin' what?" he asked, even though I knew that he already knew the answer.

"Solar surfing," I muttered.

"What was t'at?"

"Solar surfing," I said again, plugging in my board to the power source.

"And 'ow many times 'ave I told ye not to go solar surfin' at night?"

"Six?" I wondered, finally turning around.

"Sounds 'bout right," Silver answered, pushing himself off the bed and walking over to me. He sighed and looked down at me with a soft expression that made me feel guilty. "Look, Lilah, I know I ain't yer pap-"

"Don't say things like that," I looked up at him angrily. "We're family. You of all people know that best."

Silver chuckled. "We are a family, lass. Don't forget t'at. But what I'm tryin' t' tell ye is that I know ye probably don't see me as in charge of ye sometimes, but I'm just tryin' t' look out fer ye, savvy? I don't know what I'd do if I lost ye, lassie."

I smiled and then hugged Silver. "You're never gonna lose me, old man. I promise."

He looked down at me, eyebrows pulled together in a frown. "Old man, eh? What 'bout you? Seems like just yesterday ye was a little tiny t'ing who loved playin' with dolls. Now yer almost seventeen!"

"Ugh, never mention the doll thing again," I groaned and rolled my eyes.

Silver laughed even harder. "Never t'ought little Lilah would grow out of 'er girly phase. Now look at ye. Yer my right hand lass. Me First Mate."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we be working on the plan?" I asked.

"Well, t'at was what I was plannin' on tellin' ye had ye not gone off in t' the night!"

My eyes lit up. "What? Tell me what?"

He chuckled at me. "Oh, so now I have yer attention do I?"

"Siiiillllvveerrrr!" I whined and pushed my hair out of my face. "Tell me!"

He sighed and sat down at the table in our room and pulled out his map of the Etherium. A whooshing sound rang out against the walls as the green grids poured out of the capsule and the digital planets and stars circled around the table. I sat myself down at the chair across from Silver, eyes glued to the map the entire time.

Silver zoomed in to one section of the Etherium and gestured to one of the planets. "While ye were out, I received word t'at Bones is travelin' t' Kinapis t' catch a ride t' the next galaxy."

"But we're going to stop him," I said, looking over through the map to Silver for confirmation.

"Yes, lass. And by t'en, t'at blasted map'll be ours fer the takin'," he grinned at me.

I tucked a stray hair behind my ear as I looked back toward the holographic map in front of me. "What's our move once the map is ours?"

Silver's mechanical fingers zoomed in on a pulsating planet on the map. "We gather provisions, find a ship at this 'ere port, and t'en we embark."

"We can't steal a ship," I said, glancing at the cyborg who practically raised me. "Too risky. It'll cause a huge commotion."

"Lilah, ye look at me like I'm new t' the business," Silver shook his head and smiled. "'Course we ain't stealin' a ship. I'm goin' t' get us 'ired on one."

A smirk rose to my lips. "A mutiny, huh?"

Silver's smile widened. "I like the way yer thinkin'."

"But what if it fails and we get caught?" I asked. "Punishment for mutiny is minimum life sentence, maximum is-"

"Death," Silver and I said simultaneously.

"Ye 'ave a point, lass. Yer always askin' the 'ard questions."

"That's kind of what a First Mate does," I remarked, smirking slightly.

"Enough wit' yer sass. If we're gonna 'ave a successful mutiny, we 'ave to call in everyone," Silver told me, winking.

I gasped. "'You mean like Ray and Nathaniel?! I haven't seen them since I was thirteen!"

"Not fer much longer, lassie. I'll get in contact wit' t'em tonight. I'll get in touch wit' everyone tonight. Every day is a day closer," Silver smiled to himself as he began to head for the door to find our long lost crew.

"Hey, Silver, one more thing," I said, stopping him in his tracks. "How are we stopping Bones? If we try to stop him on Kinapis, he could make it out before we had a chance to get the map. Or, we could make too big of a scene and get the police on our tails."

"What were ye thinkin', Lilah?" Silver asked.

"What if we slowed him down before he reached Kinapis? Or took his ship out before he got there? That old salamander has a knack for hide-and-seek. So why not eliminate that possibility all together?"

Silver smirked at me. "What are ye suggestin'?"

"We make Bones crash land on a planet he wasn't headed to, steal the map, and then take the next ship out to reunite the crew."

"Good. Sounds good. Yer really gettin' good at plans, Lilah. Maybe you'll be frontin' yer own mutiny in time."

I laughed. "I learned from the best."

"What's the closest planet t' Kinapis?"

I looked back at the map and zoomed in on the planet. Small numbers appeared under lines that connected Kinapis to its surrounding planets. My eyes connected with "16 miles," the shortest distance between Kinapis and an outer planet.

"Well?" Silver asked.

"Montressor," I said, zooming even further on the map. "16.6 miles from Kinapis."

Silver grinned slyly. "If ye excuse me, I've got a plan t' put in action."

ONE WEEK LATER

Jim

Adventure. Thrill. Freedom. Three words that I would never in a million words use to describe my mood when I was cooped up in that stuffy old inn with hundreds of guests needing me on their beck and call. However, whenever I had the chance to escape, those three words were only few of many things I felt when I was solar surfing. Take now for instance; I felt more adventurous as I soared through an unfamiliar canyon, more thrilling as I kicked my board up to new speeds, and more freedom knowing that I had left without saying a word to anyone.

I hit the accelerator on my board as I soared over a large gap leading to a plateau. Slowly I guided my board upward and then rammed on the acceleration again to get it to start gaining altitude. Cities began shrinking as I reached the same height as the clouds in the sky. The view from up here was probably one of the most amazing ones, especially at nighttime. I waited until my surfer was completely vertical and then I slammed my left foot on the button that controlled my sails. My eyes closed as my sails collapsed, and chills ran through my body as I solely focused on the feeling of freefalling.

Adrenaline was pumping all throughout my body as the board plummeted faster and faster to the ground. The air began to get warmer as I lost altitude and my breath was fully restored to my lungs. I twisted and flipped and did all sorts of tricks with the remaining time I had left in the air. And at the last possible moment, I opened my eyes and smashed my foot back on the button to make my sails rise up again.

"Yeah!" I screamed as I skimmed my hand on the dusty canyon floor. I accelerated my board to its maximum speed and continued maneuvering around the large walls of stone. As I made a left, a mining sight came in to view. I smirked and guided my board right through a yellow and black restriction gate. I dodged a variety of obstacles until I hit a giant, metallic pipe. I grinded my board against the pipe, and my surfer raced forward even faster thanks to the sudden burst of energy.

"Woo!" I yelled. I had been solar surfing since I was barely eight years old, and I couldn't seem to ever get used to how incredible it was to feel so free. Every single time I was out, I felt like there was nothing holding me back, not a single trouble in the world, and so much more to life than I ever thought imaginable. That's what my dad said traversing space was like. No ties to anyone or anything, and wonder around every turn.

I shook the thoughts of my dad out of my head as an operating mill came into view. More and more pipes blocked my course but I dodged them with ease. A dangerous thought crossed my head and without a moment of consideration, I followed it.

"C'mon!" I yelled as I tried to get my board to accelerate even faster.

As soon as I was close enough to the mill, I collapsed my sails. I held my breath as the small hole opened and I flipped through it, narrowly missing being crushed. But the fact that my board and I successfully got through made the whole thing all the more worth doing.

"Yeah! Woohoo!" I yelled in excitement. I was surprised that I actually managed to pull that off without getting caught or injured. Usually my adventures got me in a hell of a lot of trouble or broke some of my bones.

I released the accelerator and allowed my board to cool off a little bit. It was about time I headed home before my mom realized I had been gone too long. Last time I went solar surfing without her knowing, she grounded me for two months. Apparently that day was one of the inn's busiest days, and she was the only person there waiting on tables and cooking all of the food. I felt really bad about it, but that was no compensation for the business we lost. One of many times I disappointed my mom, I guess.

A loud and all too familiar siren blared above me. I quickly looked back to see two police officers closely following me with their lights flashing. "Great," I muttered, "Just great." Spoke too soon about the whole "not getting caught" thing.

Reluctantly, I flew down to the canyon ground and dismounted my board. My shoulders slumped as the cops followed suit, then made their way over to me.

"Trespassing in a restricted area. You are in a lot of trouble young-James? James Hawkins?"

I looked up to see a familiar face. "Dave! How're you doing, man? How long has it been? How's the wife and kids?"

His metallic eyebrows frowned. "It's Officer Fredrickson to you, Hawkins. I am well, as are my wife and children. And I'm afraid it hasn't been that long since the last time I saw you."

"You know this juvenile?" the other bot questioned Dave.

"Oh yeah, Dave and I go way back," I told him. "New guy, huh?" I asked Dave.

Dave looked at me then at his sidekick I hadn't seen before. "James is quite familiar with law-breaking, so we have had a great deal of run ins before. And yes, James, Officer Andrews is undergoing training at the moment." The great thing about robo-cops is the fact that they answer every single question you ask them, no matter how awkward or rude it may be.

"Go ahead, Officer. You have the honors," Dave said, nodding to Andrews. Andrews rolled over to me and secured my hands behind my back. Dave took my solar surfer and began shoving it into the trunk of his small aircraft.

"Hey! Be careful with that!" I exclaimed angrily.

Dave turned to me. "You think you're actually going to get this back? I'm sorry, James, but it seems to me that the source of what gets you in to trouble is this board. It is being confiscated."

"You can't do that!" I protested, struggling against Andrews' iron (pun not intended) grip.

"Yes, I can actually. You have violated numerous laws and this board has allowed you to do so. I am removing a factor to this problematic equation."

"Damn it," I swore under my breath. Of course I had other boards at home. They were all in pretty decent condition, but none of them worked as well as this one did. My dad helped me build it when I was eight, and I never got to ask him what he did to the engine that made it run so well. And after this, there was no way in hell my mom would let me keep the rest of my solar surfers.

I sat in angry silence for the fifteen minute drive back home. Between thinking about the fate of my board and thinking about what ungodly punishment my mom would give me, I couldn't help but feel mad. I lost my one source of freedom, and now that I had lost not only that but got in trouble for it, I would lose the rest of my chances of freedom as well.

Before I knew it, we were trudging up the road to the inn. Both cops were on either side of me as they "escorted" me back to the inn. I really hoped that not that many people would be at the inn today; I really didn't want to cause a scene. Then without warning, Andrews slammed open the door.

"Mrs. Hawkins," the cops said in unison.

Every single person in the inn turned to look at the door. My mom even dropped the stack of dishes in her hands at the sight of the two officers. So much for not creating a scene.

"Okay, thanks for the lift, guys," I said brushing Dave's hand off my shoulder in an attempt to cool down the situation.

"Not so fast," he said as he grabbed my shoulder again. My mom ran over to the three of us before I had the chance to blink. She was exhausted from running this place, and it really showed in her eyes. As I looked at the eyes that matched my own, I saw hurt and anger and above all, disappointment.

"We apprehended your son operating a solar vehicle in a restricted area," Dave alerted her.

Andrews piped up. "Moving violation 9-0-4 section fifteen, paragraph…um…"

"Six?" I offered. He probably didn't know all of the violation codes yet; I had the majority memorized.

Andrews looked at me. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"Jim," my mom said, frowning. She probably hated how casually I interacted with the officers instead of treating them like respected adults.

"As you are aware ma'am," Dave said, "this constitutes a violation of his probation." He was pretty familiar with my case considering he was the one who busted me the majority of the time and signed off on paperwork.

"Yes," she answered, desperation filling her eyes, "No, I understand. C-could we just-"

Before my mom had a chance to finish her sentence, Dr. Delbert Doppler, scientist extraordinaire of Montressor and our family friend, interrupted. "Pardon me, officers, if I might…uh…interject here, I am the noted astrophysicist Dr. Delbert Doppler. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

Dave and Andrews remained silent and blankly stared at Delbert.

"No? Uh, I have a clipping-"

"Are you the boy's father?" Andrews asked.

Both Delbert and my mom were extremely embarrassed by the question.

"No-"

"Good heavens, no-"

"Ew," my mom chuckled nervously while Delbert looked somewhat offended.

"Delbert's just an old friend of the family," she explained taking in Delbert's facial expression.

"Back off, sir!" the policemen exclaimed simultaneously.

"Thank you, Delbert," my mom said ushering him away, "I will take it from here."

"Well, Sarah, if you insist," he said. "Don't ever let me do that again."

Dave continued the conversation as Delbert returned to his table. "Due to repeated violations of the statue 15-C, we have impounded his vehicle. Anymore slip ups will result in a one way ticket to juvenile hall."

"Kiddy hoosegow," Andrews supplied.

"The slammo," Dave said, finally releasing me from under his grip.

"Thank you officers, it won't happen again," my mom looked at me, as If her stern look would make sure of it. I ignored her stare.

"We see his type all the time, ma'am," Dave stated.

"Wrong choices," Andrews said.

"Dead enders," Dave continued.

"Losers," they said in unison.

I glared at both cops and their harsh words. I hated hearing that, even if I knew deep down that they were right.

"You take care now," Dave said while raising his officer hat.

"Let's motor," Andrews told his partner, and they made their way out the door.

I averted my gaze from the wooden floor to my mom's eyes. The inn was completely silent. Everyone was staring at my mom and me. She cast them a look and they resumed eating and talking as if nothing ever happened. I heard a small sigh and she turned back to me.

"Jim, I have had it. Do you want to go to juvenile hall, is that it?"

I turned around and grabbed a plastic bin before I went to a deserted table. My fingers aimlessly picked up the dirty dishes and set them in the bin as my mom continued scolding me.

"Jim. Jim, look at me! It's hard enough keeping this place afloat by myself without you going-"

I whirled around, not being able to take being silent anymore. "Mom it's no big deal. There was no one around. Those cops just won't get off my…"

She looked at me impatiently and waited for me to finish my excuse so she could continue lecturing me. What was the point of even trying to talk to her anymore? She didn't understand, and I didn't know how to make it clear for her. I was sick of disappointing her, but I couldn't help it. It was like it was programmed in me to screw things up and hurt everyone in the process.

"Forget it," I mumbled.

"Jim, I just don't want to see you throw away your entire future," she sighed, turning to attend to a frantic customer.

I picked up the plastic bin and backed into the kitchen. "Yeah, what future?"

I angrily threw the bin next to sink and ran upstairs to my room. Without thinking, I shoved all of my solar surfer blueprints and tools off of my desk and threw my lamp against the wall. Every time I got in trouble, I felt absolutely horrible about it. I hated hurting my mom, and I hated that I had become so problematic for her. She didn't deserve that, especially after what my dad put her through. But I couldn't help it. I really couldn't. I had no idea how I could fix all of the things that I had wrecked. And trust me, I would screw something up again before I could even begin to get on the right path. I wish I could do something right, at least once.

Once my anger had subsided and I had cleaned up the mess I made, I opened my bedroom window. I slipped out on to the roof and climbed up until I reached the chimney. This was my favorite place to be when I wasn't solar surfing. I started coming up here when I was a kid and wanted a secret hiding place. This was one of two places I went to when I needed to think or just wanted to disappear for awhile.

Montressor was due for a storm, and the clouds began to roll in as the hour passed. The skies began getting darker as more stormy clouds came. Thunder boomed in the sky and lightning flashed. The smell of rain drifted through the air. I couldn't help but feel like the weather matched my mood perfectly. I sighed and rested my head on the cool railing.

"Dad! Daddy, come here!" I called from downstairs. I was in my dad's workshop and had just put the finishing touch on my first solar surfer. I spent weeks working on it and only asked him for help one time when I couldn't get the engine working just right.

My dad ran down the stairs. "Jimmy, what is-?"

He stopped and took in the machinery before him. "Jim! That's amazing!" he exclaimed while gawking at the complete solar surfer.

I smiled proudly at his compliment. My dad was one of the best mechanics on Montressor, and it felt amazing that he was impressed with my job.

"How do you build this so well?" Dad wondered aloud.

Before I had a chance to answer his question, he called my mother down. "Sarah! Get down here quick!"

"What is all of this ruckus?" Mom ran into the room a few moments later and stopped right in her tracks. Her jaw dropped and her eyes darted from my father to me.

"Jim-you-you did this?"

I nodded, grinning at both of them.

"Jim! You're only eight years old! I'm so proud of you!" she proclaimed as she ambushed me in a hug.

"Just wait 'til I teach you to ride it, Jimmy!" Dad grinned.

"Oh, no you won't!" Mom said sternly.

My dad gave me a wink and a smile as if to promise me otherwise. I laughed in delight at my oblivious mother and the solar surfing lessons that were to come.

I smiled at the memory. Back then, everything was so much easier for my mom and me. I missed those moments with the both of my parents. As much as I loved my mom, things were never the same after my dad left. They still weren't.

"I really don't know how you do it, Sarah. Trying to run a business while trying to raise a felon…felon-fellow…fellow like Jim."

I turned to the partially opened window to my left. The voice belonged to Delbert. He must've stayed late to help my mom close up and to also talk to her about everything. My mom didn't really have a lot of time to talk about everything in her life, and I knew she really appreciated when Delbert would stay late and talk to her after business hours.

"Managing it? I'm at the end of my rope! Ever since his father left, well, Jim's just never recovered. And you know how smart he is! He built his first solar surfer when he was eight!"

I smiled a little. She practically read my mind.

"And yet, he's failing at school he is constantly in trouble, and when I talk to him, he's like a stranger to me. I don't know, Delbert. I've tried everything…"

My small smile faded as my mom continued to talk about how hard things had become thanks to me. I tried to fix everything, I really did, but I only seemed to screw it up even worse. I wanted nothing more than to do something amazing, something life changing, something that would pull me out of this rut that I had gotten myself into. But I knew I couldn't. I was stuck in an endless cycle of failure, and no matter how hard I tried or how much I wanted to, I would never get out of it.

Little did I know, all of that was about to change in a matter of seconds.

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! Updating may take me awhile from time to time, but I will try my hardest to stay on top of it. Life is pretty crazy right now. Thanks for reading!

-staringattheskyline