The Traveler The Lost Heart Prologue

June 14th, 2007 E.S.T.

Acton, California

Earth

A warm breeze brushed past Emma and me as we approached the high school football field. It did little to chase away the heat of the day, but it was better than nothing. A few groups of kids were scattered along the grass or sitting on the metal bleachers on either side. Butterflies swarmed my stomach, and I swore all eyes were on us as we entered a place we weren’t supposed to be yet. Not until the end of summer would we be allowed to walk on this campus, and even then, it would be as freshmen. We’d be at the bottom of the totem pole once again, and the thoughts of what the upperclassmen might do terrified me.

Knowing I would have Emma by my side and Tony to spend time with again helped put me at ease. If my best friend and brother couldn’t help me get through this terrifying transition, then who could?

This wasn’t the best time to be worrying about the first day of school, though. My friend needed my full attention as her number-one supporter. No matter what her parents said, they couldn’t have more faith in her than I did.

Emma trembled with nervous excitement as I followed behind her. One hand fidgeted with the hem of her yellow shorts while the other checked her ponytail for the umpteenth time.

“You’ve got this, Em. You’re going to knock them dead.” She would make the team easily with her background in gymnastics. The fact that she wasn’t as certain as I was drove me nuts. She had this in the bag.

When Emma didn’t respond to my words of encouragement, I tried distracting her. The perfect distraction busied herself by mingling with some of the other girls trying out for the team. “Hey, look! Jasmine’s over there.” I pointed at the black-haired girl who had yet to spot us.

The name snapped Emma out of her head, and she focused in on her second best friend. “Jasmine!” She waved and took off in a sprint, leaving me to chase after her. The pair embraced and squealed in excitement.

“I can’t believe we’re finally doing this!” Jasmine exclaimed. The pair had been dreaming of being on the high school cheer team for years and practicing their hearts out for months now. We pretty much spent every Friday after school in Emma or Jasmine’s backyard so they could practice everything they needed for cheer.

Sometimes, I joined in, but Jasmine had a habit of teasing me while pointing out everything I was doing wrong. It wasn’t my fault I didn’t have much experience with any of this stuff. I only knew what Emma taught me.

As the girls chatted about our last day at school, some noise caught my attention from across the field. A group of boys were seated on the lowest row of the bleachers, talking with some of the older cheerleaders. One boy caught my attention out of all the others. Tony was over there.

Emma caught me staring and followed my line of sight. “I didn’t know Tony was going to be here.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t either. You mind if we go say hi?”

Jasmine got unusually excited. “Come on, Em, we can go talk with the popular kids!”

“The popular kids?”

She looked floored by my confusion. “Yeah, you didn’t know? Your brother is super popular. Everyone loves him!” She leaned over and not so subtly whispered in Emma’s ear. “With Daniel at our side, we’ll definitely fit in with everyone else.”

I furrowed my brow and cast a glance at Emma. Did we really care about being popular? Sure, it’d be nice to not have to worry about being made fun of, but I didn’t really care how many people liked me.

Emma shrugged while rolling her eyes. Jasmine was always more concerned with popularity. It wasn’t surprising that she wanted to be a cheerleader. She fit the stereotype almost perfectly. All she was missing was the blonde hair.

Emma, on the other hand, was more concerned with having fun doing something she loved and getting other people excited in the process. I didn’t know how she could stand the idea of being the center of attention for a large crowd, but if she wanted to do it, I’d support her. That was my job as her best friend.

As we neared the group of upperclassmen, I waved excitedly. “Hey, Tony!”

My brother was slow to look up from the girl he was talking to; once he did, he put on a smile. “Hey, man!” He jumped up and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Everyone, this is my brother, Daniel. And his friend Emmy.”

My friend scowled at his name for her. “Emma.”

“And… I want to say Jasmine.”

Jasmine nodded excitedly.

Tony shoved his hands in his pockets as he stood before us. “So, what are you doing here?”

I pointed with my thumb at my two friends. “Emma and Jasmine are trying out for cheer.”

“Alright! Very cool.” He winked at both of them.

Emma furrowed her brow while Jasmine’s face grew red. She giggled uncontrollably and leaned into Emma’s ear again, and this time, managed to whisper quiet enough that I barely managed to hear her, and I wished I hadn’t. “He’s so hot.”

Emma recoiled at the words and made a gagging sound. “No, he’s not!” She then looked at me with her eyebrow raised, silently asking what was wrong with our other friend.

I held my palms up with a shrug. Emma would know more than I did. Jasmine was always weird to me.

Tony moved to my side and elbowed me in the ribs with a smile. “And so you’re here to check out all of the cuties,” he whispered not so subtly.

The other boys in the group chuckled approvingly while the cheerleaders giggled.

“What, no!” I jumped away from him, practically knocking Emma over. Only her quick reflexes kept us from toppling over. I wasn’t here to be checking out cheerleaders. That would be weird, right? I glanced at Emma, hoping she knew that wasn’t why I was there.

Her brow remained furrowed, confirming I wasn’t alone.

“I’m just supporting Emma. She’s been nervous about trying out, but she’s got this.” I smiled at my friend, a look she reciprocated.

“Aw!” one of the cheerleaders gushed. “That’s so sweet.” Her smile had my cheeks feeling warm, and I quickly looked away, which made her laugh. “So, Daniel, what do you like to do for fun?”

“Oh, that’s easy; I like reading comic books! I just read this one where the superheroes are fighting each other—”

She groaned in disgust. “Ew, your brother is so lame, Tony.”

I blinked at her in confusion. All I did was answer her question. I played with my fingers as I studied her. “Did I say something wrong?”

Tony sat back with a sad chuckle. “I’ve been telling him that nerd stuff is for babies. He doesn’t want to listen to me.”

Jasmine’s face grew serious as she shook her head. “You really should listen to your brother, Daniel.” There were murmurs of agreement from most everyone in the group.

“But I like that stuff. Superheroes are cool,” I stated, looking to Emma for confirmation.

She nodded. She always let me ramble on about whatever storyline I was reading. She never complained to me about them before, which meant they couldn’t be that bad, right?

Everyone else roared with laughter, even Jasmine.

I pointed at Tony. “You read comics, too!”

His smile vanished in an instant and his voice picked up the warning tone I knew all too well. “No, I don’t.”

I didn’t understand how he could be laughing at me for something he did, too. We used to read comics together and sit around and talk about our favorite heroes. He gave me my first comic. Those were some of my favorite memories with him, and he acted like they never happened. I refused to allow him to forget about me.

“Yes, you do. You have a whole bunch of comics under your—”

“Stop making up stories, you little brat! You chose the nerd hobby, so we make fun of you. That’s how it works. Don’t drag me down with you with your lies. Little brothers, am I right? Always seeking attention.”

Several of the kids nodded in agreement. “They’re the worst,” said one.

“I wish I was an only child,” another spoke up.

Tony rolled his eyes, then looked straight at me. “Same.”

My heart sank at those words.

Tony sneered. “Aw, it looks like he’s going to cry.”

“I am not!”

“You sure you don’t have a little sister, Tony?”

“Right?” Jasmine chuckled. “You should see all the girl stuff Emma has him do. He’s her little boy toy.”

“Aw, little Emma’s Boy Toy!” Tony chimed in while ruffling my hair.

I stared at Jasmine with wide eyes, begging her not to say more. She was supposed to be my friend.

She denied my silent request. “He used to take ballet.”

That perked my brother up. He straightened up with a grin. “I forgot about that! Come on, Danny. Give us a plie!” He gestured toward the field with a bellowing laugh drowning out the laughter of everyone else. Every kid in the group was pointing and laughing at me, even Jasmine and Tony. I couldn’t believe it. How could they do this? I had trusted them.

The only person who didn’t laugh was Emma. She watched in stunned silence as it all unfolded. When my burning gaze met hers, her eyes hardened. Her hand locked on my wrist, and she guided me away from the group, whose laughter only grew as we fled. I let her guide me away from the stupid, popular kids. Who needed them? I had my best friend right here, and that was all I needed.

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