Chapter 1

A PROMISE TO REMEMBER

The red head giggled as she ran down the hall with a picture in her hand. She laughed as the boy chasing her just barely missed her long red braid. She reached the stairs and stopped only to get rammed by the boy and they both tumbled down the carpeted steps.

The girl looked up at her pursuer, her face expressing surprise at the boy lying on top of her and the sudden pull of gravity, and she started crying. She had scraped her elbow on the way down and it hurt.

The boy, who had hurt his knee, grabbed back the picture before getting up and saying, "I told you not to touch this. Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"Fakir! You pushed me down the stairs," she sobbed. "You didn't have to do that."

He looked at her, his dark green eyes staring directly into her bright blue ones. He was about to say something, but instead folded the picture and pocketed it.

"Why do you always cry so easily?" he asked, crossing his arms. "It's not like you're two or anything. Why don't you act more your age?"

"But…it hurts," she pouted, wiping her eyes. "Doesn't your knee hurt?"

"Yeah, but I'm not going to be a baby about it," he said, flinching when his shorts rubbed the wound.

"That's easy for you. You're eight. I just turned six, meanie," she said and crossed her arms.

"Not my fault."

By now Fakir's mom, a pretty woman with long, dark brown hair, came in to check on the bickering and knelt by Duck.

"Oh, Duck, what happened? Are you alright, dear?" she asked and looked at the boy. "Fakir, your knee. What did you two do this time?"

"Fakir pushed me down the stairs," Duck said.

"Fakir, you know that's dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"It was an accident, okay?" he said. "She took something and I wanted it back and she stopped at the head of the stairs and I couldn't slow down and… I didn't mean to do it."

Fakir turned away and frowned at the wall. His mother went over to him and brushed away some of his long black hair from his face.

She smiled sweetly and said, "Look, I know you don't like people taking your stuff, but Duck is a friend and not to mention guest in our house. You need to try and be a bit nicer to her."

"Friend?" he said and looked back at her. "Are you sure? I kinda think she moved in."

"Well, she does live just down the street," his mother grinned. "Come on, let me take care of your boo boos and we can have ice cream. How does that sound?"

"Ice cream?" he said and thought. "Okay, I like it. If I told you I hurt my finger, would I get more ice cream?"

"No, just the same as the rest of us," she laughed and stood. "Come on Duck, let's take a look at your elbow."

"We're going to get ice cream!" Fakir said and pulled the girl to her feet. "Hurry up! I want ice cream."

It didn't take long for Fakir's mom to bandage their wounds and soon they were sitting at the counter in the kitchen with bowls of ice cream covered in hot fudge. Duck's legs were swinging back and forth happily as she ate and Fakir, well, he ate his so fast he nearly got a brain freeze.

Once they were done, Fakir dragged Duck outside to the swing so they could play some more and he started to dig words in the dirt while Duck sat on the swing, watching him. He scribbled "Friends Only" in the dirt and sat back proudly.

"Whatcha think?" he asked, beaming up at her.

"Um…what's it say?"

"Friends only," he stated and looked up at Duck. "We are friends, right?"

"Uh huh," she said and smiled. She jumped from the swing and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to a group of bushes in the corner, saying, "I want to show you something. Something not even my parents know about."

She knelt under the low branches and he did the same thing, watching her with anticipation. She bit her lip and opened her hands to show him a red stone. It shown so brilliantly that Fakir could see his reflection in the gem. He reached out to touch it when Duck pulled away and shook her head.

"Not yet," she said and drew a circle in the soft dirt. She placed the stone in the center and grabbed his hand, resting it on top. She put her hand on top of his and said, "I call this my promise stone. I've only used it once, but now I want you to use it with me."

"What are we going to promise? We get ice cream every day?" he asked hopefully.

"No, silly. Promise…we'll always be friends," she said and looked at him with hopeful blue eyes.

He looked at her, surprised by the promise, but he smiled and said, "Sure. That's a promise."

She smiled at him and softly began to sing.

I've found a friend in you.

One that surely will endure.

Loneliness has just one cure,

The friend I found in you.

She stood up and started dancing with her best friend, the boy finding her happiness contagious and she continued.

You found a friend in me.

One on whom you can depend.

True and just until the end,

The friend you found in me.

Isn't it good to feel?

Isn't it nice to know?

That from here to wherever we go

We'll never, never be lonely.

Never, never be lonely.

Never be lonely!

Fakir sat up in bed, the room still dark, and he walked over to the light switch. He yawned as he passed by the mirror and stopped. He looked at himself. He was no longer a shrimpy eight year old boy, but now a very attractive seventeen year old. He let his hair grow out and he pulled it back loosely into a hair tie leaving just a few strands of hair falling in his eyes. He scanned the rest of his upper body, glaring when his eyes landed on the horrible scar that sliced across his chest from his right shoulder.

He turned abruptly away and sat back on his bed, not tired, not interested in anything. He sat there, staring at his hands as he relived the dream. He looked at his pillow, his eyes depicting fatigue, but his mind not wanting to accept it, and he slid his hand under the white fluff. When he pulled his hand back out, he was holding a necklace with a brilliant red gem reflecting his face.

He sighed and leaned forward again, his thumbs rubbing the smooth surface of the stone, and he thought back to the day he had gotten it; the same day he made that promise.

"Ha, promise," he scoffed softly. "Some promise."

As he rubbed the smooth stone, he started to sing to himself.

Could it've been forever?

Or was my mind just rambling on?

I knew you once,

I missed you once,

I could've sworn you were mine.

I could've sworn you were mine

Whenever I saw your face.

Was it wrong to have these feelings?

Well, I swore you were mine,

I never knew a time before

I had so many feelings.

It couldn't be forever,

You just had to disappear.

And now I know

This dream isn't so

But it felt you were mine.

Felt you were mine

Felt you were mine

It couldn't be forever.

I felt you were mine

Felt you were mine

It couldn't be forever.

All I knew was I missed you so,

It couldn't be forever.

Felt you were mine

Felt you were mine

It couldn't be forever.

He hung his head as he thought of the feelings that flooded him and he looked down at the stone in his hand. He wanted to get rid of the gem, but he didn't quite understand why he could never bring himself to do it.

He gripped the necklace and fell back onto his bed, one arm lifted over his forehead. He could remember when his father cut a hole in the rock and threaded the gold chain through it and it only made his heart sting. He angrily turned over and shoved the necklace back under the pillow, but finding it difficult to let go.

He laid there for several minutes, thinking, and at some point, he fell asleep again. He didn't wake up again until his alarm went off and he struggled to push the snooze button. However, a certain someone was standing over him so he couldn't do such a thing.

"Fakir, sleeping in again?" the man said, his crazed, old eyes staring the boy down. "How many times have I told you that when your alarm goes off, you get up immediately?"

"Every damn morning, now go away," he grumbled and turned over.

"I don't think so, boy," the man said and grabbed Fakir's arm, forcing him out of bed and onto the floor. "You are going to get up on time, even if it kills you."

"I'd rather it did than having you bother me about it," he muttered and stood up, towering over the man by at least six inches. "I'm going to take a shower. Don't even try to bother me in there."

"Excuse me, but as long as you live under my roof, you do not talk to me like that. Is that understood?" the man said, glaring up at Fakir.

"Yeah, well, I didn't even want to live with you, Grandpa," he sneered sarcastically. "I think I would have preferred living on the streets."

"You keep that attitude and I will have no choice but to punish you," he said sternly and watched as Fakir stopped slightly. "You do remember what happened last time, don't you?"

The old man started to grin as his creepy melody slipped from his lips.

There's a beast at the door

And he's…wild and free,

But you don't let him…in

'Cause you don't want to see

What is…lurking…

Right behind…the façade.

"Shut up! You're the only one here with a façade and that was four years ago!" Fakir said, turning around angrily. "I'm almost eighteen! You can't keep running my life like this. Just stay out of my way, old man. Once I turn eighteen, I'm outta here."

Fakir stormed off leaving his grandfather to watch silently. However, instead of glaring the boy down, he grinned.

What is…lurking

Right behind…the façade.

"Today will be very interesting," he whispered to himself. "Finally, I will get what I deserve and that boy will pay for what he has done. Ten years of waiting, and soon…she'll be back."

YES! I is super happy. I sure hope you guys like this idea as much as I do. And for those of you who have already read all my chaps so far, please reread them to see what you think of the songs. They should make sense, but...I might have done this all a bit too fast.

Alright, now for what and where the songs came from.

A Friend in You from Pufnstuf.

Could it be Forever from the Partridge Family.

Façade Reprise from Jekyll and Hyde.

I sure hope you like it and will like the other chapters too. I'm having fun, how bout you?