The REBELZ: "The Beginning" (Book 1) *SAMPLE Rough Draft!*

THIRTEEN

Blake and I stood back, watching my crazy friends giggle, laugh, and joke, having the time of their lives. It's the kind of moments like these that you kinda have to treasure, for they happen rarely, so I decided to let them have their fun while they still could before things got serious.

Blake, who had his hands tucked into his jeans' pockets, glanced over at me. "So... I don't mean to pry or anything. I'm just curious.. but what made you want to fight back at the NGO and join the Rebelz? If you don't want to talk about it, I totally understand. I don't know very much about you, and since we're going to be working together..." Blake trailed off.

I tore my eyes away from my friends to look at him. "No, it's okay. It's just that, I've never gone into much detail about my past and I try not to think about it." I swallowed, trying to figure out how to go on. I wasn't sure what made me want to open up to him. If it was anybody else, I'd probably shut them down and insist we talk about something else.

Instead, I went on. "My parents died because the NGO wanted total rule over the planet and spread their "glorious" ideas." I said rather angrily. "My family was against their stupid ideas from the start, and my dad was a general in the war. A building somewhere in Kentucky was bombed one day, with my dad and his soldiers in it. They had been trying to save people trapped in there, but nobody made it out..."

I clenched my fists, which hung at my side, as I glared at the peeling interior walls of the plane. I remembered the day one of the rebel soldiers came to our door to deliver the bad news. I had stood absolutely still, shocked in horror over the news; Mom had cried as the soldier uttered his sincere apologies. Back then, I had been the strong, unemotional one who Mom used for a shoulder to cry on. I had to be strong for both of us.

"When we heard the news, Mom cried for days afterwards; she was never the same again. I hated the NGO for that, blamed them for my dad's death.. Since Dad was gone, it was my turn to take care of my mom, to be there for her. She was such a wreck.. every little thing made her burst into tears. Eventually though, after I talked to her and tried to ease her pain, she collected herself and started back into her usual routine. We didn't have much money to get by, but we stayed anyways - which was a mistake."

I looked straight into Blake's deep blue eyes and just let it out. "The NGO took both my parents away. My mother died trying to save me when they bombed our town. A building collapsed on top of her." I forced my tears down; I could NOT show weakness.

Blake's eyes softened, deepest sympathy shining from within. "I'm so sorry. I don't blame you one bit; I understand." He told me quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

I straightened up, putting back on my tough face. "Don't be." I brushed him off. "NGO is gonna pay for all the lives they took, my mom and dad's included. A lot of innocent people are dying every day because the NGO wants to take away everything we used to hold dear. They want to shape us into the exact image they want, but I'm not gonna let that happen. The only way to prevent that is to fight back. They will pay for this." I vowed, glaring at the movie screen. The movie was almost over.

Blake's hand touched my clenched one, which sent an electric pulse running up my arm. "I'm with you all the way." He said solemnly. I saw some other emotion inside those deep blues, but couldn't figure out what.

I watched Ella tear up at the end of the movie. "I freakin' love that movie. It just gets to me!" She admitted, sniffling. Jackie handed her a tissue.

Rickie frowned, chomping on some pieces of popcorn he'd managed to find. "Meh, I've seen better. I almost forgot how big they made Ursula's boobs. Holy cow, they were huge! I can't believe they would put that in a KIDS movie!"

Snickers erupted inside the plane. I was still in a funk, so I didn't join in right away.

"Only you would notice that, Twin." Jackie giggled.