Stone Hearts & Hand Grenades - 1. Chapter 1

I woke up at 5:45 on the nose, my phone chirping out the annoying alarm to wake me. I walked to my bathroom and stepped inside the shower. I turned the water to a steaming hot waterfall, letting the water soak me. It was so relaxing and calming, showering in the still of the morning. After about 20 minutes, I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror. Full head of dreadlocks that came a bit past my shoulders, big doe-like dark brown eyes, a medium brown glowing complexion, a thin, lean body that had a slight definition to it standing at 5 ft 9, and a set of straight white teeth. I continued to do my normal morning routine and got dressed. I tied my hair in a ponytail and decided to get dressed for school. I decided on a blue, gray and white western style shirt, a pair of white skinny shorts and blue loafers. I walked downstairs, into the kitchen, to see my mom sitting at the island drinking coffee and looking at her sketches and plans for the day. My mom is an interior designer and she absolutely loves her job.

"Good morning baby. Sorry I didn't make breakfast, but I have to be out of here in about 10 minutes," she said putting the mug away.

"That's fine. I'll pick something up on the way to school," I replied back to her.

Gracie, our American Mastiff, was lingering by the back door, so I decided to take her out for her morning walk. "I'm taking Gracie for her walk, Ma. I'll be back in about 20 minutes."

"I'll be gone by then, hon. Your dad's still here though." My dad's a CEO at a financial banking firm. He owned about 4 banks in L.A. and 2 in San Fransisco. He was always on his laptop, or texting away on his many PDA's so he didn't really pay much attention to me, not that I didn't mind. I got Gracie's leash and began our morning walk. We lived in the middle class neighborhood of Mulholland Heights, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. I began to hum the familiar tune of Jack Johnson's classic "Times Like These". Gracie loved when I sang. She'd come in my room while I sang and played guitar and just lounge around. Most of the time, she would curl up and fall asleep listening to me and my little jam sessions. As we continued to walk, we came across a cul de sac that held about 10 or so houses. One house in particular stood out because it had been empty for some time, now there was a car in the driveway and a moving van in front of the house. I took Gracie halfway down the sidewalk and went to turn around. Instead of following, Gracie jerked away and ran in the opposite direction. I tried to grab the leash, but she was a bit faster than I was, so I had to run after her. When I finally caught up to her, she was in the yard of the now occupied house and on top of this little girl, who had to be no more than 8 years old. "Gracie! Here girl," I commanded her. She didn't budge, which was unusual for her. She was usually very obedient towards me. "Here girl!" I yelled again, walking to grab her leash. The little girl was laughing at Gracie, who was licking her face.

"Sorry about that, sweetie. She's friendly, but she's not usually this friendly," I said to the girl. Just then, a guy who looked to be around my age came outside. He was absolutely breathtaking. He was tall. Like at least 6ft3. He had the most smooth, flawless creamy light skin, his hair was short, black, and wavy. His eyes were a bright hazel that had the most intriguing twinkle. Lastly, his body was that of a Greek statue. Chiseled and muscular. I was blown away. "Cheyenne, come on, get off the ground, I gotta take you to school." His voice was deep and smooth. So pleasant! "What's up, bruh," he said nodding in my direction. I just stood there with my mouth open. "Hey man, I said what's up?" I snapped out of my reverie and finally responded a weak "Hey." He sort of chuckled and came over to where Cheyenne and I were standing and helped her off the ground. "I'm Christian by the way." He stuck his hand out to meet mine. "I'm ummm, I'm... I'm Trace," I replied nervously. I shook his hand. It was like fireworks in my mind. I was invigorated by his touch.

"I'm sorry about your sister. My dog kinda jumped all over her. She usually isn't like this."

"It's cool, man. I'm just gonna take her to school and go to school myself."

"Oh really? What school are you going to?" There were so many in the area. I hoped he was going to mine.

"El Camel Real High?" he said in an unsure tone.

"El Camino Real," I laughed, correcting him. "Hopefully, I'll see you around."

"Yeah, sure thing." He smiled, his hazel eyes burning through mine. I took Gracie's leash and walked back to the house. An interesting morning already.

Hope you guys like! I'd love for you guys to comment and give me feedback and your opinions so far. I greatly appreciate constructive criticsm.
I always like a picture with my characters, so here's both Trace and Christian.

Trace: http://24.media.tumb...fofhno1_500.jpg
Christian: http://24.media.tumb...opu1oo1_500.jpg