Hey there! This is my first story, so be sure to tell me what you think. Uh...enjoy?

Art.

Of all the aspects of my life, art is the only thing in which I can be absolutely sure. For instance, I know that if I mix red and blue paint, I'll get purple. If I draw a square with a triangle on top of it, I'll have a crappy drawing of a house. If I shade in a circle just right, it will become a sphere.

Other things, however, I can't predict. Take moving, for example.

"Lucy!" my mother bellowed from the kitchen. I carefully angled my brush as I highlighted a cloud, replying to her call as I did so.

"What?" I shouted, stroking lightly to avoid messing up.

"Come down here! I have something to tell you and your sister!" She yelled back. I sighed, leaning back from my work and replacing my paintbrush on my worktable.

"I'll be right down!" I answered before she could start again. Hopping down from my stool, I untied the bandana from my head. I quickly disposed of the dark fabric, dropping it into the hamper near my bed. With a last glance at my latest project, I left my room.

The all-too-familiar smell of Toll House cookies baking in the oven immediately assaulted my nose. Uh-oh.

The kitchen was just around the corner, and I paused to take a deep breath before continuing through the open doorway. Ellie, my little sister, sat at the counter, happily stuffing her face with freshly baked cookies. I pulled up a chair beside her, my gaze arrested by the plate of mouthwatering treats between us. I eyed them suspiciously. Something was up.

"Go ahead- Ellie sure has." My mother chuckled, shutting the door of the fridge.

"Okay…." I drawled, reaching for a cookie. I shot a look at Ellie, wondering if I was the only wary one here. She just smiled, revealing a set of chocolate covered teeth. Apparently, I was. I took a bite from my cookie, reveling in the taste of the rich, oozy chocolate.

Of course, that was when my mother chose to speak.

"So girls, can I ask you a question?" She looked from my sister to me.

"What, mommy?" Ellie mumbled, her mouth full. I stayed silent.

"You like your cousins, Sarah and Gracie, right?" She asked. Both my sister and I nodded.

Where was she going with this? Not that I didn't like my cousins- they were awesome -but I was confused. I watched my mom as she tried to form her next sentence.

"Well, how would you feel about living right across from them?" She inquired. Ellie immediately perked up. I, on the other hand, was stunned.

"Really?" We asked in unison, Ellie's voice tinged with excitement.

"Well, I thought it might be a nice change," she explained. "You know, to get away from everything."

I nodded in agreement. There were too many bad memories in this house. Memories I couldn't get rid of.

"When do we leave?" I questioned, aware of Ellie now bouncing in her chair.

"In three days." My mother replied.

"Great." I sighed, slapping my thighs and standing up. I made my way back to my room, processing this new information. I wasn't sure how to feel about it, to be honest. The fact that I was moving didn't bother me- it was where I was moving that I wasn't so thrilled about. Sunny, pastel Suburbia was not exactly what I had in mind when it came to neighborhoods. Come to think of it, it wasn't even the fact that it was sunny- it was the people. I don't understand how my cousin stands it. All of the women- and even the men, now that I think about it -are always gossiping, gabbing about the town's newest oddity while merrily sipping cocktails. It makes me sick.

I re-entered my room, throwing myself on the bed and exhaling into the pillows. The coolness of the satiny sheets provided some comfort as I tried in vain to keep my thoughts elsewhere. Beginning to feel dizzy from lack of oxygen, I turned my head from the pillows to the open air. I sat up, running my fingers through the small amount of hair on my head. I'd hacked most of it off so that I wouldn't have to keep brushing it out of my eyes when I worked. My mom liked it, to my surprise- nicknaming me her 'little pixie'. The fact that I am only about half a foot taller than my eight year old sister didn't help.

"Lucy," Ellie said softly from my doorway, interrupting my thoughts. I smiled faintly at her, motioning for her to come and sit by me. She happily complied, plopping herself next to me and eyeing the artwork on my walls. She gazed at the painting of the night sky on the opposite wall. I knew it was her favorite.

"What's the matter, El?" I asked quietly, disturbing her staring session. She looked at me, her little blue eyes conveying all that she felt at the moment.

"I….I don't wanna move anymore. I wanna stay here, with my friends." She murmured. I nodded in understanding and hugged her, stroking her dark hair gently.

"I know, El. I know." I cooed. She relaxed in my arms, breathing deeply. It wasn't long before I realized she'd fallen asleep. I sighed, scooping her up in my arms and carrying her to her room. I suppressed a shudder as I entered it. Porcelain dolls were located everywhere, their beady eyes staring blankly into space as I placed my sister on her bed. I was about to leave when I felt a small tug on my shirt. I turned to find Ellie sleepily staring up at me.

"Don't go." She mumbled, her hand flopping back onto the covers.

"Okay." I whispered, crawling in next to her. I took off my glasses and placed them on the nightstand. Ellie snuggled up to me.

"Everything's gonna be okay." I muttered, more to myself than to Ellie. I soon found myself succumbing to exhaustion as my eyelids drooped.

The next three days went by fast. Most of the time was spent packing and saying goodbye to friends. The third night, Ellie went to bed teary-eyed.

We left the house early this morning to get to the airport on time. I barely had time to get ready! Thankfully, we stumbled onto the plane just in time, prepared to sleep for the entire length of the six hour flight. Unfortunately, the stewardess didn't get the message the first time I didn't speak to her. You see, I'm very shy around people I don't know, and I tend to stay silent when they try to talk to me.

"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked me for the fifth time. I glanced at her name tag. Tanya was scrawled on the gold metal. No, Tanya, I wanted to say. I do not- DO NOT -want anything. AT ALL. Instead, I just shook my head. She shrugged and continued on. I leaned back in my seat. It was going to be a LONG flight.

We made our way out of the plane, happy to be out of there. My Aunt Maggie was waiting for us at the airport, Sarah and Gracie accompanying her. They ran to greet us, smothering us with hugs and kisses. I walked with Sarah, catching up on things. Sarah is my age, meaning we'd be in the same grade when school started back. Fortunately, it was summer, so school wouldn't be a problem until September.

After much begging from my sister and I, Gracie rode with Ellie and my mom, and I rode with Sarah and my aunt.

"I still can't believe that you're both seventeen already!" Aunt Maggie gushed. Sarah smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Mom!"

"Well, you ARE!" Aunt Maggie countered. I chuckled. Bits of chatter ensued as we drove to their neighborhood. Correction: our neighborhood.

We finally arrived on the pastel colored street. Each house was a different color, all of them equally revolting. We pulled up to a house painted in a ghastly yellow shade. I forced back a groan as we got out of the car to wait for my mom and the little kids.

"So, what do you think?" Sarah asked quietly once we were out of earshot. I grimaced.

"It's….interesting." I scrunched up my nose. She laughed.

"I know- I don't like them either." She gestured to all of the houses lined neatly on the street. I took in the scenery around us, noting that each house had a perfectly trimmed yard, a clean driveway, and a grey roof. Ugh.

"At least that makes two of us." I smiled, watching my mom pull in. We met them as they got out of the car. Aunt Maggie held up the key to the house.

"Are you ready, Lisa?" she asked, grinning from ear to ear. My mom hesitated, then nodded. Aunt Maggie handed her the key, and we followed her to the door. I glanced to the side, noticing something out of place. It wasn't something one could miss, so it caught my attention fairly easily. All conversation that was going on behind me went unheard by me as I stared. A huge- and I do mean HUGE -hill stood just a little ways from our neighborhood. I could see the mangled trees and dying grass from here. On top of the hill stood a house. It wasn't really a house, actually- more like a mansion. It appeared to be made of stone, with pointed towers set into each of it's corners. It reminded me of what Cinderella's castle would look like- if Cinderella had moved out and left the house to drug lords, of course. Upon closer inspection, I realized that there was a hole in the roof. As I analyzed the house, I decided that I liked it.

"Lucy, are you coming?" Sarah tapped me on the shoulder. I shook out of my daze and nodded.

"Yeah, sorry." I mumbled, turning back and following her inside.

The interior of our house wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Plain white paint covered the walls, while a light beige carpet hugged the floor. The living room was pretty good sized- a bit smaller than our living room in New York. To my left was a hallway, and I went to check it out. At the end of the hallway were three doors. I opened the one on the right, only to be met by sunlight shining in my face. The glare from my glasses caused my head to throb. I cursed the builders for putting a window directly across from the door. However, I liked the room in general because it reminded me of my old one.

"I claim this room!" I shouted to my mom, who was talking to my aunt in the living room.

Footsteps sounded behind me as everyone came to inspect the space that I'd taken.

"Oh," mom muttered as she scrutinized my new bedroom. "It's nice. Kind of like your old room, too."

"Mhm." I nodded, walking back down the hallway. It was getting too crowded. I went out to the backyard and sat down in the grass, twirling the blades between my fingers. I craned my neck to see the mansion over the wooden fence. It wasn't too far away- maybe a mile at the most. I wonder…

"Hey, Luce." Sarah said, sliding open the back door and sitting down next to me.

"Hey." I replied quietly, still playing with the grass.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, following my line of sight.

"That mansion on the hill." I pointed to it, though it wasn't hard to miss.

"Oh, that thing?" She said in a dismissive tone. I looked over at her.

"What? What's the matter with it?" I raised an eyebrow, my eyes darting from the mansion to her.

"Well, it's….." She sighed. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise."

"It's haunted. Supposedly." She shrugged.

"Care to elaborate?" I smiled.

"Well, all I know is that some old inventor used to live up there. The police never found his body, but it's rumored that some of his blood stains the wooden floors. People say that his ghost haunts the place." She explained.

"Sounds fun!" I said sarcastically. She laughed.

"Lucy, can I talk to you for a minute?" my mom whispered loudly from the back door. I shielded my eyes, getting up and walking over to her.

"What's the matter mom?" I asked.

"I have to start work tomorrow, so I'm leaving you and Ellie with Aunt Maggie. Will you be alright? Is that okay?" She questioned.

"Yeah, that's fine. I can hang out with Sarah or something." I answered with a nod.

"Great!" She breathed, giving me a hug. "Now come on, let's get unpacking!"

I grimaced, offering one more look at the mansion before following her to the moving truck that was now parked in front of the house.

I didn't know why I was so attracted to the house, but I knew I wanted to explore it. Was it actually haunted? Did anyone live there? I didn't know how, but I was going to find out.

So, how did I do? Review if you can, and thanks so much for reading!